


Shifting Sands, Swirling Sea

by flitterflutterfly



Series: Shifting Sands 'Verse [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Courtship, Dom Sirius Black, Evil Voldemort, F/M, Godfather Sirius Black, M/M, Manipulative Dumbledore, Smart Harry Potter, Sub Harry Potter, Sub Hermione Granger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-22
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-01-02 08:41:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1054761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flitterflutterfly/pseuds/flitterflutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The summer before fourth year, Harry, Hermione, and Sirius live together in wizarding France. The impact of all they learn there becomes clear when Harry's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire.</p><p>
  <b>This story is now on permanent hiatus. I may decide to rewrite and repost it at some point--it which case I'll be putting it up on my new and improved ao3 account: http://archiveofourown.org/users/skylarjaye/. Thank you to everyone who supported this story and my old account.</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to add some more of my Harry Potter WIPs from my ff.net account onto my ao3. This story is on ff.net here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9689785/1/Shifting-Sands-Swirling-Sea just in case you'd rather read it there.
> 
> This is a Dom/sub version of the wizarding world, which I haven't seen much if any of. However, a lot of other elements of this story are rather cliche—read if you enjoy traditional courtship, Ron and Dumbledore bashing, and other things along those lines.
> 
>  **Warnings:** This will eventually have both m/m and m/f explicit sex for the two main couples. Don't like, don't read.

Harry stood barefoot on the beach. The constant wind blew at his shoulder length black hair. He absentmindedly tied a leather cord around it, pulling it into a messy ponytail at the nape of his neck. He wore no glasses; having gotten his vision corrected nearly two months before. His sight was crisp and clear as he looked over the moonlit sea.

The sound of footsteps alerted him to another presence. Harry flicked his wrist so that his familiar holly wand fell from its holster into his palm. Quickly, though, he recognized the magical signature as that of his godfather. Harry slipped his wand back up into its holster and relaxed as Sirius clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder.

They stood side-by-side watching the sea. The waves quietly lapped at the sand in front of them. Harry glanced to the left, observing his godfather's face briefly. Sirius looked much healthier after a full summer of healing. His cheeks had filled out from their previous gauntness and his eyes had lost most of their shadows. He would never be the same laughing man Harry saw in the pictures of his parents' wedding, but Sirius no longer held himself like a deranged Azkaban escapee.

Harry turned his attention down the beach as three figures came into view. Hermione and Fleur Delacour walked close together, talking in low whispers. Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle, ran ahead. Harry stepped forward and held out his arms to accept the girl's hug. She smelled like spring, like innocence and happiness. Harry tightened his grip around the eight-year-old briefly before letting her go.

" _Tu vas me manquer_ ," Gabrielle said.

" _Moi aussi,_ " Harry agreed. He would miss her too. "We'll see each other again."

Gabrielle pouted. "When?"

Harry chuckled. "At the very least, next summer.  _Oui, m'ange?_ "

Gabrielle blushed. " _Oui, mon chevalier._ "

Hermione and Fleur had come close enough to hear and Fleur laughed. "You spoil 'er, 'arry," she said. " _Il est un soumis, Gabrielle._ "

Harry flushed. "Fleur!"

" _Je sais_." Gabrielle pouted.

Hermione giggled. "It's true, though. There's no point in you looking to marry Harry. He's as submissive as I am."

"Though none of you are wilting flowers," Sirius said, joining them. "All four of you have that fighting spirit true lords and ladies should always look for in a consort."

Gabrielle grew shy at Sirius' presence and retreated to her sister's side. Fleur had been bashful of the man at the beginning of the summer, but several months later she barely blinked at his presence. Harry and Hermione had been confused at first when Fleur's mother, the lady of the house and dominant to Fleur's father, had taken Sirius aside and questioned him as to his intentions both with Harry and Hermione as well as her two daughters.

Sirius had explained later that as a well-known lord and dominant in the wizarding world even before his years in Azkaban, it was suspicious of him to live with possible consorts alone. But he'd told Lady Apolline that he was their acting guardian and would continue to be so.

Harry thought back to when Hermione and he had first learned of the difference between lords and consorts. Hermione had initially been disgusted by the idea, calling it sexist and chauvinistic, until Sirius had explained—with a bit of confusion as to what Hermione was insinuating—that there was nothing sexist about it. Being dominant or submissive didn't follow along gender lines in the wizarding world. It was true that there were statistically more male dominants and female submissives, but no one blinked at the opposite.

"It's late," Sirius said. "Let me walk you two back to your house," he told the Delacours.

"I guess it's time for last goodbyes," Hermione murmured. They had eaten an official goodbye dinner earlier with the full Delacour family, but that didn't make it easier to say farewell to the friends they'd made and might not see again for an entire year.

Fleur leaned forward and kissed both her cheeks. "Chin up, 'ermione," she said. "You are most beautiful when you smile."

Hermione smiled brightly and returned Fleur's kisses. She turned to Gabrielle and tugged the girl into a hug as Fleur and Harry exchanged their own set of kisses. Harry gave Gabrielle one last hug and then they headed as a group back up the beach and toward their summer homes.

Harry and Hermione stopped in front of the cottage that they'd lived in with Sirius for the past several months. Sirius continued to walk Fleur and Gabrielle down to the door of the neighboring house. Apolline opened the door and stepped out. Harry was too far away to hear what was said, but he saw Sirius and Apolline clasp hands briefly, before all three Delacours disappeared inside the house and Sirius made his way back.

Harry turned to Hermione. "What were you and Fleur talking about?"

"She was just reminding me about the hair charms she's been using for me this summer," Hermione said, patting her neatly braided hair.

Two days after they'd met the Delacours, Fleur had drawn Hermione aside and cast a charm on her hair that worked wonders at straightening it out just enough for them to be able to braid it and have it stay neatly bound. Hermione had declared her approval, saying especially that it helped keep her hair out of her face on the beach while she read from the many books that graced their cottage library.

Harry nodded and turned back briefly to the sea. Hermione followed his gaze and sighed. "I'll miss it too," she said. "But we'll be back."

Harry smiled. "For once, I'm looking forward to the next summer."

Hermione brushed a hand across his arm comfortingly. They turned back to the cottage and walked inside just as Sirius reached them. He closed the door behind them.

Harry walked over to the now bare living room. They'd already had Dobby take all their trunks to the house they'd been staying in for the last few weeks before the Hogwarts term started. All that was left now was the international portkey set to go off at midnight. Midnight, Sirius had said, because the portkey observation office would be least observant in the middle of the night and maybe they could put off  _The Dailey Prophet_  reporting their return to Britain for a little longer.

"Ready?" Sirius asked. He held out his hand and the handkerchief in it.

Harry grabbed one end of the handkerchief, Hermione another.

"It feels like it's been years, not months," Harry murmured as they waited for the exact minute to hit.

"We've learned so much," Hermione said agreeably. "I… Sirius, thank you again. I know you could have done this just with Harry."

"Harry may be my official godson, but I signed the paperwork to become your magical guardian already, didn't I? It was a pleasure to have you here with us, Hermione," Sirius reassured her. "Though it remains to be seen if the British ministry will acknowledge what the French ministry, and the IWC, do."

Harry frowned down at the portkey. "Are you sure you should come with us? We can live on our own for the next few weeks. I don't want you to get arrested even if the International Wizarding Community agreed to your innocence. Britain hasn't released an official statement on it."

" _The Daily Prophet_  only reported on it at all because we threatened them," Hermione muttered angrily.

"I'm not leaving you two to live alone, even though I know you're both capable," Sirius stated. "I'm both your magical guardian, and your lord guardian to boot. It would be irresponsible for me to be in another country even and especially while you two are at Hogwarts."

Harry shared a look with Hermione. They'd agreed early on that the mental healing the French mindwizards had done on Sirius was a mixed blessing. Sure, he was much more stable now, but with that stability came a level of protectiveness than neither of them was used to from their muggle guardians. While Hermione's parents weren't nearly as neglectful as the Dursleys, they certainly weren't as mindful of Hermione as parents should be. Then again, for all Harry and Hermione mock complained about it, both of them had thrived under Sirius' guardianship that summer.

The portkey activated. It pulled at Harry from the gut in a nauseating whirl and twirl. What seemed like far too long later, he landed and immediately stumbled. Strong arms caught and steadied him.

Harry looked up, smiling at Sirius. Sirius let him go and ruffled his hair cheerily. Harry looked left to where Hermione was swaying unsteadily on her feet. He straightened and took note of their surroundings.

They stood in the front garden of a modest-sized home out in the English countryside. It was known as Hallows Hold, a beautiful stone house that had been in the Potter family for as long as Harry's invisibility cloak. Sirius had explained that the Potters were descendants of Ignotus Peverell, the original owner of the invisibility cloak. Of course, Hermione doubted that Harry's invisibility cloak was actually the one in the Deathly Hallows' legend, but Harry wasn't so sure.

Regardless, when Harry had gone to the Paris branch of Gringotts that summer and received his account statement from the goblins, he'd discovered Hallows Hold. It was unplottable and hadn't been lived in for hundreds of years, which made it the perfect place for them to live in while they were back in Britain. The Ministry wouldn't be able to find Sirius here and neither would Dumbledore be able to find Harry to force him back with the Dursleys.

They'd gone to Hallows Hold earlier that summer briefly to check it out and so they could accurately describe to Dobby how they wanted it set up, but it had been a full month since. Harry opened the front door and walked inside with Sirius and Hermione trailing behind him.

The front door opened to a warm entrance hallway that led to an open parlor. A fire was already roaring in the fireplace. The furniture was made of maple wood and the armchairs were colored crème and maroon. There was a kitchen and off from it the house elf quarters, which were big enough for up to six elves to live comfortably. A full dining room with real silverware sat formally to the left.

Up the stairs were the library and guest rooms. Up from that on the third floor was the main set of bedrooms. Sirius had argued against being given the master suite since it was technically Harry's house, but both Harry and Hermione had managed to convince him that since he was their guardian, it was only proper. Harry and Hermione's rooms were both large and spacious enough as it was and though they shared a single bathroom between them, neither of them thought they'd mind.

Harry stepped into his personal bedroom. His trunk was set up at the foot of his bed, which was a large queen-sized four-poster with soft green sheets. Hedwig's perch was already set up by the window and from it, Hedwig hooted at him. He'd had her fly back earlier that week since it would have taken her a while to make it here.

"Hey, girl," Harry said. He stroked her feathers as he looked out the window. It was certainly a change of scenery to be back in England after a summer in the south of France. Still, the wide fields that surround Hallows Hold were beautiful in their own way.

There were letters waiting on his desk. Harry looked them over. One was from Ron and the other had the Hogwarts crest. He and Hermione had already gotten their book lists, so the letter from Hogwarts had to be another letter from Dumbledore trying to convince him to give up his location.

Harry scowled. Dumbledore had broken all the trust Harry had had in the man that summer. When Sirius and Hermione had rescued Harry from the Dursleys at the beginning of the summer, Harry hadn't given much thought to the blood wards around Privet Drive. After all, the wards didn't protect him for Vernon and his fists.

Sirius had been horrified and had immediately decided that living on the run and leaving Harry to the Dursleys was not the way to do things. Harry supposed that was why Hermione had contacted the man in the first place and though he'd been angry about it at first, he'd quickly retracted said anger and instead thanked Hermione for her actions. Hermione had convinced her parents to let her live in France with them and Sirius had done quick work of getting the IWC, the International Wizarding Community, to give him a full and proper trial.

It had taken a month and half but, at the bottom of a long stack of paperwork, Sirius had been declared Harry  _and_  Hermione's legal magical guardian in the eyes of the IWC. And through it all, Dumbledore had sent more and more guilt-tripping letters trying to convince Harry to come back. Harry had almost been more upset with the fact that there'd only been one similar letter written to Hermione. He knew he was  _special_  but the blood wards weren't any better than the anonymity of living in France and the goblin-set wards around their cottage house.

Harry headed through the bathroom that connected his room to Hermione's. She had her second trunk, her library trunk as she called it, open. It had been an early birthday present from Sirius. It was larger on the inside, with full bookshelves and automatic organizing charms in place.

Harry had been given a new trunk as well, one with an automatic featherweight charm and multiple drawers and expanded bars and hangers for the new wardrobe Sirius had bought him. A full set of new muggle clothes had been the first thing Sirius had purchased for him, but he'd also taken Harry and Hermione shopping in wizarding Paris for some proper casual and formal wizarding wear later in the summer after they'd been taught enough to understand why it was important to wear such things.

Harry would have thought Hermione would have rejected being indoctrinated into the wizarding world, but with Sirius and the Delacours teaching them, that hadn't happened. Hermione had remarked to him only a few weeks ago that there should be a class at Hogwarts teaching muggle-raised students about the culture of the wizarding world, because it was really so important and fascinating and how were they expected to fit into the world if they weren't even taught what they'd been doing wrong?

"Dobby did a great job," Harry said as he looked around Hermione's room. Hers was done in baby blue coloring and oak furniture. There was a reading nook in one corner, even, which was just so perfectly Hermione that Harry grinned.

"He did," Hermione agreed. She pulled away from her trunk and glanced over at him. "What's that?"

Harry held up the Hogwarts letter. "Not sure, but probably Dumbledore. I'm going to give it to Sirius in the morning."

Hermione nodded, wrinkling her nose. She'd had the hardest time with Dumbledore's disrespect. Harry always internally expected authority figures to disappoint him, however much he'd hoped not when he'd come to Hogwarts—but Hermione had found solace in her childhood in her teachers when her parents had never really paid attention to her intelligence and hard work. That their esteemed headmaster wasn't perfect and in fact had been continuously awful about the whole thing had really upset her.

"You doing okay?" Harry asked Hermione. He'd grown to really like and care for the Delacours, but Hermione had been the closest to Fleur. Apparently Fleur had been the first female friend she'd made who was both intelligent enough to match Hermione's arguments and conscious enough to be careful in her comments about Hermione's looks. Fleur had never put Hermione down for being  _plain_  and instead had highlighted Hermione's inherent beauty and taught her to be more confident in herself. She done that with Harry too, but Harry hadn't needed it in quite the same way as Hermione.

Then again, Harry mused as he thought of the long conversation he, Hermione, and Fleur had engaged in about the nature of magical submissives, Fleur had helped him too. After all, he'd had an identity crisis halfway through the summer about not being inherently dominant and it had taken him several weeks of Fleur demonstrating to him that submissives and consorts weren't weak for him to finally feel comfortable enough to tell Sirius. Of course, Sirius had said he already knew—after all, Harry took after his mother more than his father and Lily had been quite the spirited consort.

"We'll see them again," Hermione stated. "And we'll write." She walked over to her bed where Crookshanks was sleeping on one of the plush pillows. "Maybe I should get an owl."

"We should invest in an enchanted mirror or something instead of forcing Hedwig or any other owl to fly all the way to France," Harry said. "I could make it a birthday present for you."

Hermione smiled. "Would you, Harry? That would be so great!"

Harry nodded and pulled Hermione into a casual hug. He'd gotten used to the physical comforts that submissives were expected to give each other and, after years of being neglected positive touch at the Dursleys, he wasn't ready to stop. Luckily, Hermione wasn't either, for she hugged him back easily.

"Night, Hermione."

"Goodnight, see you in the morning."

Harry headed back to his room. He had a hard time falling asleep—having gotten used to the sound of the sea lulling him into dreams—but once he finally did succumb to Morpheus, he slept deeply.

 

o-o

Sirius frowned at the letter. "Well, he's learning."

"Because it's a Hogwarts letter?" Hermione asked.

Sirius nodded. "He's writing as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, which is perfectly within his rights. He expressed concern over Harry's guardianship. I think he's worried about the letter I sent that informed him that I was still in charge of Harry even when he was at Hogwarts."

"Because Dumbledore used to be my magical guardian," Harry said. "And Hermione's, and for every other muggleborn student."

"It's a bad system," Sirius said. "I remember Lily being upset over it. She ended up asking Alice's parents to take on the position because she didn't want Dumbledore to have any say over who she dated or married, or what she did with her money."

Harry scowled. Dumbledore had siphoned away not a small percentage of the Potter fortune to fund various things. Most had been used for Hogwarts' betterment, but still it felt like stealing. Except, it had been his right as Harry's magical guardian.

What upset Harry the most was that Dumbledore had actually taken Harry's invisibility cloak out of the main Potter vault solely for the purpose of gifting it to Harry for Christmas that first year. Luckily, most of the other Potter artifacts had rejected him so he hadn't been able to steal much of anything except for money.

"Oh, huh, he's also demanding I pay Hermione's tuition in full." Sirius shook his head. "You're still supposed to exist under the muggleborn fund, but it's not like I mind sending the extra galleons. It's just petty."

Hermione huffed and stirred more sugar into her morning tea.

"You say you got another letter?" Sirius asked.

"From Ron." Harry picked it up. "Did you want to read it?" He knew that, since Ron was probably a dominant, it was within Sirius' rights to read any correspondence between Harry and Hermione and Ron. Then again, Sirius wasn't the kind of guardian to demand such traditionalism and he shook his head.

"Honestly," Hermione said. "Ron needs to change his tone." She'd gotten her own letter. They'd both written back and forth with Ron over the summer, but it had been slow and brief because of how little Ron usually wrote and how long the owl travel took. This last letter, though, had been a bit rude. Ron had demanded to know when they'd be back in England so they could come stay in the Burrow and all go to Diagon Alley and King's Cross together. The request itself wasn't bad, except it had been worded like they had no choice and that had pissed Hermione off.

"We already told him that we got all our school things in Paris," Harry said. "And you'll probably floo or apparate us onto the station, so there's no reason to stay at the Burrow."

"It would put you under Dumbledore's thumb earlier, too," Sirius muttered.

Harry sighed. He didn't want to be so mad at Dumbledore, but the man was making it hard to forgive him. They had learned that, as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Dumbledore could have pushed for a trial for Sirius, and everyone else Crouch Sr. had put in Azkaban without proper jury. He hadn't. That upset all three of them immensely.

Staying in wizarding France had really opened Harry and Hermione's eyes to the different types of magical communities. France was a strong part of the IWC, as was Bulgaria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain, and countless other European countries. And then there was Russia, China, Japan, Vietnam, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan... not to mention Australia, Singapore, and then in the Americas of course there was Brazil and Peru and Mexico and the United States and Canada. On top of that, Harry had learned that African witches and wizards were renowned for their powerful magic and culture that persisted in the wizarding community outside the influence of Western colonization on the continent.

The most amazing thing was that all these countries had representatives in the IWC and, with the ease of wizarding travel, were globally connected in a way the muggle world hadn't found until recent years. And yet Britain still held onto their almost isolationist culture.

In comparison to the IWC, the British wizarding world was so behind on the times it was depressing.

Dobby popped in, wearing his usual black tea towel complete with the Potter family crest. He looked much healthier than he had at the beginning of the summer, before Harry and Hermione had learned that a house elf without a master was a house elf starving to death. Harry had rectified his mistake immediately and called Dobby to him to be bound to the Potter family. Dobby would perhaps always be strange, but he was less insane now that he had magic sustenance flowing through him on a regular basis. And besides, Harry loved him for his little oddities, the mismatched socks on his feet just one of them.

"Hello, Dobby," Hermione said as Harry smiled at the house elf and Sirius gave him a nod.

"Hellos Masters and Mistress," Dobby said. "Dobby is wondering if you is wanting more breakfast?"

"I think we're good, thank you, Dobby," Harry said. "And thanks again for all the hard work you did on this place. It's really beautiful."

Dobby grinned. "Dobby is happy Master Harry likes it. Dobby is so happy to work for a proper family again, Dobby is." His ears wilted for a moment, before he ran a hand over the crest on his tea towel and visibly cheered himself. He popped away to the parlor and began whistling to himself as he clean out the fireplace and relit the fire.

"It's just awful, what Lucius Malfoy did," Hermione whispered. "I keep forgetting, but when he says something like that…."

Harry nodded. He'd learned that giving a house elf clothes didn't actually free them, not unless they were already on probation with the family. Lucius Malfoy had apparently never liked Dobby and had constantly hung the threat of being freed over his head. When Dobby had been given that sock, he'd been so happy even though Harry now knew he'd basically just accepted that he'd starve to death.

"Lord Malfoy has always been the worst kind of man," Sirius muttered. "I never forgave my uncle for arranging his marriage to Cissy."

"What?" Harry looked from Hermione to his godfather.

Sirius blinked and looked up. "Oh, do you not know? Narcissa is my cousin. She was my favorite cousin. A Ravenclaw in school, like Andy."

Andy and Dora—or Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks—had come to visit them in France over the summer after the IWC trial had happened. Harry liked both of them and had even managed to convince Dora to let them call her Dora instead of Tonks—otherwise, he'd argued, it would get too confusing because Andy and Ted were both Tonks as well.

"Did you ever reinstate Andy and Dora into the Black family?" Hermione asked.

Sirius shook his head. "I'm going to head over to the old house on Grimmauld Street once you both are back at Hogwarts and see what I can do. There's a lot of political mumbo-jumbo I need to sort through." He sighed. "I never wanted to be head of the Black family."

"Anyway, Narcissa?" Harry pressed.

"Right, yes Cissy. She and I were the only ones who still talked to Andy after she married Ted. But then my  _dear_  uncle forced Cissy to marry Lucius and he forbid her from contacting Andy. Or me. Or anyone in the family except Bellatrix."

"That's your insane cousin, right?" Hermione asked. "The one in Azkaban?"

"Yeah." Sirius sighed. "To be fair, Bella and Cissy do love each other. I never understood it. Bella has never been mentally stable but Cissy has always been able to calm her. Though I don't imagine thirteen years in Azkaban has done her well." He shuddered briefly, like he always did when Azkaban was brought up.

"I just wish there was something we could do," Hermione said. "About Lord Malfoy. He should be in Azkaban, if not for his house elf abuse then for his time as a Death Eater."

Sirius snorted. "Don't I know it? But Fudge is his lackey through and through. Thing is, if Malfoy Sr. was incarcerated, then Malfoy Jr. could legally become the head of the family, provided he's a dominant and the family ring accepts him. It'd get Cissy out from that man's hold. I worry about her in that house."

"I'm not sure Draco would be much better than his father," Hermione muttered. "He's a git."

Harry nodded. "But he probably wouldn't beat his mum. Or worse."

Hermione paled. "Yeah."

Sirius waved his hand. "This is depressing breakfast conversation. Let's cheer things up. I have a surprise for you two." He paused. "Well, more for Harry… but it might be an interesting experience for you, Hermione."

Harry accepted the slender folder Sirius handed him and opened it up. He gaped. "Quidditch World Cup tickets! Sirius!"

Sirius laughed as Harry hugged him over the table. "I'm excited too."

"It will be a good time to test your legal innocence," Hermione stated. "After all, Fudge wouldn't dare arrest you with so many other country's dignitaries around, even if it is on British soil, right?"

"We can only hope so."

 

o-o

Pig flew through the window and buzzed excitedly around the den. Harry and Sirius were playing chess together at the side table while Hermione read from a large tome entitled  _Christmas or Yule? The Muggle-Influence on Traditional Holidays_.

"I'm almost regretting letting Ron keep that owl," Sirius muttered as Harry stood to grab the letter from Pig.

"He never even got tired flying all the way to France and back to the Burrow," Harry agreed. "Quite an excitable thing, aren't you, Pig?"

Pigwidgeon let out a tiny squeak. Harry opened the letter.

"It's addressed to both of us, Hermione," he said. "I guess Ron got tired of writing two separate letters."

"He's so lazy," Hermione said with a great sigh. She closed her book and came to stand next to Harry. "Let's see what he has to say."

"Oh!" Harry said as they read the letter. "The Weasleys got tickets to the World Cup too! Guess Mr. Weasley has connections with the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Good tickets too, they're set to arrive the day of the game, in the early morning."

"Well, so are we," Sirius said. "Does it say what site they're camping at?"

"No, but probably not ours. We're going to be in the French sector, right?" Hermione said. "It will be nice to drop by and visit them, though. We've never even met Bill, have we?"

"You're right, huh. We should do that. Ron talks about him all the time."

Harry and Hermione sat down and drafted out a reply to Ron. Harry would say that, after this past summer, Hermione had become truly the best friend he'd ever had—but Ron was still one of his first friends. He might be a lazy git sometimes, but he might always hold a bit of a special place in Harry's life.

"You know, Harry," Hermione said as they finished the letter. "I'm glad you started paying attention to your studies more this summer. Ron said he hasn't even finished his Potions essay yet! And school starts in less than two weeks."

"We did our Potions essays in June." He and Hermione had done all their essays at the beginning of the summer and had then spent the rest of the summer studying the practical work of every subject because they'd been allowed to use their magic in France. Harry stroked his wand holster and frowned. "Hey, Sirius, can we use magic here? Or is the Trace back on?"

"We're back in England," Sirius said. "I wouldn't risk it. If you were able to claim your inheritance as Lord of the House of Potter, it wouldn't be a problem, but you're not dominant."

"I know." Harry sighed. Though he'd come to accept himself and the fact he'd be a consort to some witch or wizard… he was upset that, by being so, whomever he married would be the head of his family, not him. He wouldn't ever be allowed to wear the Lord Potter ring his father had—though he would wear the Potter consort ring that his mum had.

"We can still do some Potions work," Hermione said. "I want to try brewing Wolfsbane."

"Good idea! It can't be any harder than the Moonlight Burst potion we figured out the day before my birthday."

"Let's hope not," Sirius said. "I'm tired of having to repair the potions' room after you two explode it again." He tapped his chin. "Speaking of Potions, I wanted to talk to you two about that."

"What about it?"

"Look, Snivellus— I mean Snape and I don't like each other. We never have and, to be honest, I was a right git to him in school. However, his animosity toward you, Harry, and even you, Hermione, borders on abusive. From what you've told me, he's breaking the Hogwarts Code of Conduct." Sirius folded his hands in front of him and met their eyes steadily. "If he ever does anything unfair to you, I want you to report him to the Board of Governors and let me know. You're my wards now and I won't stand for you failing Potions when I know you both have talent in it."

"You can report professors to the Board of Governors?" Hermione asked.

Sirius nodded. "It's one of their jobs. The reason they were founded was to regulate the professors and the headmaster. I know Malfoy is on the Board, but the rest of them aren't that bad."

"We'll keep that in mind," Harry said. He wished he'd known that earlier. Maybe then he wouldn't have gotten detention for breathing too loudly. "I don't know how he's going to keep up believing I'm some copy of my dad. I mean, even you say I'm more like my mum."

"You really are," Sirius stated. "You've got more than just Lily's eyes. Snape fancied himself in love with her, you know. That's one of the reasons he hated James. Because he's the one that Lily accepted the courtship of, not Snape."

"I never knew." Harry exchanged a glance with Hermione. "Snape really liked her?"

"Don't ask me why. They used to be friends, but she stopped talking to him after he screwed up and called her a mudblood." Sirius shook his head.

"That's awful," Hermione murmured.

Sirius stood. "It's in the past. Now, I'm hoping Dobby has dinner ready, because I'm starved."

Harry and Hermione followed behind their guardian out the den and down the hall toward the dining room. All the while, Harry thought about his Potions professor and his mum. He shuddered. He couldn't imagine his mum and Snape in a relationship… but maybe Snape had been different in Hogwarts.

Or, maybe not, Harry thought. He'd never know for sure. It wasn't like he had a pensieve full of his mum's memories.

 

o-o

Sirius apparated with Harry and Hermione around midday on Monday, as per their given time. They arrived at the field near where the stadium was set up and were immediately greeted by a wizard with a long list.

"Let's see, Lord Black," the wizard said. "And two guests. I've got you checked off. Head down there and the muggle will take the money for your campsite."

"Thanks," Harry said for them as Sirius walked down to the ticket office for the campground.

The muggle was obviously confused, muttering to himself about strange people, but he seemed to relax and Harry, Hermione, and Sirius' normal muggle clothes and Hermione's easy handling of the money. "Let's see, you're in Site Three, Mr. Black. Here's your map and have a good day."

They walked through the campground, observing the crazy tent set-ups. Site Three was the French sector, but they walked through the Irish sector on the way and ran into Seamus Finnigan and his whole clan.

"Harry, Hermione!" Seamus yelled excitedly, waving his arm around.

Harry grinned and walked over to his fellow Gryffindor. "Hey, Seamus. I see you're supporting Ireland." He looked over the brightly decorated campsite, green shamrocks proudly displayed everywhere.

"Of course," Seamus scoffed. He looked behind Harry and paled a bit. "Oh, and that's you're godfather… uh, Lord Black."

Sirius bared his teeth in a mock grin and held out his hand. "Seamus Finnigan, isn't it?"

"Yes sir," Seamus said, his voice raising several octaves. He accepted Sirius' hand and then winced as Sirius shook it roughly. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"I'm sure." Sirius looked up as Seamus' father approached them. "Ah, Lord Finnigan. It's been years."

"Lord Black!" Lord Finnigan said. "Read all about your innocence in  _The Shamrock_  I did. Much more in depth than  _The Prophet_  it was. Glad to be back in Britain, are you?"

"Well enough," Sirius said. "Least 'til Fudge tries to get me arrested."

Lord Finnigan scowled. "Wish to say he wouldn't dare, but the British Ministry has really gone downhill since our school days, hasn't it? Quite the disgrace. It's why I moved my family back to our ancestral home in Ireland, but you know the Irish magical school just can't compete with Hogwarts, even with it's recent troubles."

Sirius nodded understandingly. "I considered transferring Harry and Hermione here to Beauxbatons, but they wanted to stay at Hogwarts and I can't say no to that. Not when it was my Alma Mater too."

"Ah, yes, young Harry Potter." Lord Finnigan peered at Harry disconcertingly. "Are you planning on claiming your Potter lordship soon, Mr. Potter?"

Harry frowned and stepped back closer to Sirius. "No, sir. I won't be claiming lordship. That is, I can't."

"Oh!" Lord Finnigan glanced up at Sirius, who placed a protective arm around Harry's shoulder. Hermione's hand found it's way to Harry's. He squeezed it. "I see."

"You'll keep your son in check then," Sirius said softly, with just the hint of warning. Seamus looked between Harry and Hermione, and then to his dad. "I know he's living in Harry's dorm. I don't want to worry about my ward's virtue over the next few years."

"I understand, Lord Black," Lord Finnigan said just as seriously. "I've been meaning to have that talk with Seamus soon anyway. I'll make sure he's aware of his boundaries before he returns to Hogwarts."

Sirius nodded and soon enough they all said goodbye and continued on their way.

"I was just thinking," Hermione whispered to Harry as they go their tent set up. "Things are going to change at Hogwarts, aren't they? I mean, we're all fourteen now."

"You're almost fifteen," Harry pointed out.

"Exactly! Everyone's going to be thinking of romance and stuff, you know?" Hermione frowned as she hammered in a peg. "It's a bit nerve-wracking. Being submissive. I mean, I can imagine so many people will want to court you, Harry, but I'm just a muggleborn. I don't have a title or dowry or anything."

"You're also the smartest witch in Hogwarts right now." Harry squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry, Hermione. There are plenty of people who'll be interested in you."

"But I wouldn't be a good housewife. I don't want to be one! I want a job after Hogwarts. At the Ministry maybe, or teaching, I don't know. I don't want some lord who wants me to stay at home and have babies." Hermione shuddered.

Harry nodded sympathetically. He thought to himself that such a life wouldn't be so bad. Just focusing on his family… he figured he would like that. But Hermione was different. She needed to find a lord who appreciated her ambition and intellect. Harry was sure she would.

They got the tent set up and headed inside. Sirius had gone to talk to Ludo Bagman, the Head of the Department of Magical Sports and Games, about their seats, so Harry and Hermione had been charged with getting the campsite all ready.

They'd slept in a magical tent like this one for a brief vacation in the middle of the summer, but Harry was still amazed by it. Sirius had bought the tent new. It had three separate bedrooms and even a bathroom and full kitchen.

Sirius got back soon after and they ate dinner at a campfire outside, before heading over to where salesmen were selling paraphernalia for both teams. Sirius bought them all omniculars and got himself a little Irish flag. Harry and Hermione had both decided to be neutral, as they weren't particularly familiar with either team. Harry spent a minute staring over the miniature Krum figurine.

"He's supposed to be quite a seeker," Sirius said.

"He scowls a lot," Hermione stated, staring at the figuring as well. She blushed as the little figurine turned toward her and bowed low. "Well… I suppose he's not so bad."

Harry laughed to himself and bought the figurine behind Hermione's back. He figured he could give it to her for a birthday present, just to be funny.

They ran into Ron as they neared the other end of the sales area. He grinned at them both and then ducked his head shyly at Sirius. They talked excitedly for a few minutes, until Ron walked them back to where the rest of the Weasleys were.

Mrs. Weasley immediately drew Harry into a hug and commented on how nice Hermione's hair looked all braided up like it was. Mr. Weasley drew Sirius aside and they began to talk in low murmurs. Harry supposed Mr. Weasley was apologizing for not believing Sirius was innocent.

"Harry, Hermione," Charlie said. "It's been years."

"Hi, Charlie!" Harry said. "How's Norbert?"

"Doing well," Charlie told him. "You haven't met Bill yet, have you?" He gestured the eldest Weasley child closer.

Harry stared a bit as Bill approached and then, inexplicably, blushed. Bill wore his hair long and had a fang earing sticking out of his left ear. His clothes were fashionable, including what Harry recognized as dragonhide boots. He held himself confidently, like someone who embraced his own dominance and knew where he stood as the next head of the Weasley family.

"A pleasure to meet you finally, Harry, Hermione," Bill said. He took Harry's hand and lightly kissed the air over it, and then did the same for Hermione.

"Likewise," Harry said, smiling and trying to will his cheeks back to a normal color. He noticed Hermione wasn't doing much better. Bill was nothing like either of them had expected when comparing him to Ron or the twins.

"Why'd you do that, Bill?" Ron asked, scowling. Harry noticed they'd attracted the attention of the entire Weasley family. Percy was blinking hard and Ginny was staring with her mouth hanging slightly open. The twins were exchanging glances with much eyebrow wiggling.

"Do what?" Bill asked. "It's the proper way to greet a pair of lovely submissives."

"Harry's not submissive!" Ron stated hotly. "Tell him, Harry!"

Harry's cheeks stayed red, though this time for a different reason. "Actually, Ron… I am. I realized it this summer." He frowned. "How come you never mentioned the difference between submissives and dominants before, anyhow? Me and Hermione only learned a couple months ago."

"And now Lord Black is your lord guardian," Charlie stated. "A wise choice. Better than having it be the headmaster."

"But… you can't be submissive," Ron stated. "You're… you're Harry Potter!"

"I'm aware." Harry frowned.

"But you defeated You-Know-Who as a baby. You have to be dominant."

Harry scowled. "I don't have to be anything, Ron! And you know I don't like people mentioning that. I was one! What could I have done against Voldemort? I don't know why his curse backfired, but it's not anything I did."

"Besides, Ron," Hermione added. "That has nothing to do with Harry's level of dominance. And I don't see why it should matter. You never treated me any different, and you seem to have known I was submissive."

"I— well you're a girl, Hermione, of course you're submissive," Ron said. "But Harry, you're not a poof, are you? You know most dominants are lords not ladies, right?"

"I don't care about gender, Ron," Harry muttered. "I thought wizards didn't."

"We don't," Bill said, glaring at his little brother. "It sounds to me like Ron's got some very strange ideas running around his head." He huffed. "Don't worry, you two, Charlie and I will get him straightened out before Hogwarts. I know you three are friends, but if you've declared submissive then he should know. He can't be acting the same way around you two as he did when you were kids. It's just not proper."

"Honestly," Hermione said. "Nothing has to change. Really, Ron, it's not like you're looking to court either of us."

Ron turned bright red then and muttered something negative under his breath. Harry and Hermione exchanged an amused glance. Their red-haired friend really had some maturing left to do.

Harry felt a tug on his arm and turned to smile at Ginny. She was frowning. "You really are submissive, Harry?" she asked softly. "Like me?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I am."

"Oh." Ginny looked oddly disappointed. "I hadn't known."

"Apparently no one but Bill had," Harry stated. "How'd you know, anyway? Sirius was trying to keep it out of the news, so it hasn't really been announced officially yet."

"Well, it will be soon, I can guarantee that," Bill stated.

"You carry it around you, Harry," Charlie said. "It was obvious as soon as Bill greeted you that way. You too, Hermione. Us dominants, we can just tell. It's not a bad thing, it's just the historical truth. A magical attunement, if you will."

"An evolutionary thing," Hermione said. "It makes sense. I wonder if it has to do with pheromones?"

"I'm sure you can look it up later, Hermione," Harry said. "Anyway, don't you suppose we should get going? The game will start soon."

Just then, Mrs. Weasley came up and started ushering them toward the direction of the crowd. Harry and Hermione fell back in step with Sirius, who held out each arm for them. Harry noticed Mr. Weasley had his arm held out for Ginny in the same way. Fred and George were arm-in-arm as well, but he didn't suppose that was the same thing.

Then again… Harry stared at George a little harder. "Hey, Hermione?" he said softly across Sirius' chest. "Do you suppose George is submissive?"

Hermione blinked and looked at the twins. "Now that you mention it… I do get that vibe from him. But Fred's definitely dominant."

"That's not uncommon in twins," Sirius stated.

"Huh." Harry shrugged and turned his attention to the huge Quidditch stadium.


	2. Chapter 2

Apparently, Sirius had talked to Bagman about upgrading their tickets to the same as the Weasleys… which was the Top Box. Harry stared in amazement at the view as they all trekked up to their seats. He'd never seen so many magical people in one place. It was stunning.

There was no one else in the Top Box yet, except for a house elf sitting in a far seat. The elf looked up and Harry and Hermione took their seats closest to the creature and Harry could tell by the squished nature of her nose that she was in fact a she.

"Hello," Hermione said politely. "Saving a seat for your master or mistress?"

The house elf squeaked and nodded. "Yes, miss, Winky is. My's master is Lord Crouch, he is. He is asking Winky to save his seat, but Winky doesn't like heights." Winky squeaked and covered her eyes again.

Hermione scowled and exchanged an upset glance with Harry. "He shouldn't have made you come up here if you're afraid of heights. That's just cruel."

"Oh no, miss," Winky said. "Winky is a good house elf, she is happy to do her duties for Master Crouch, even if she is wishing she was back in her master's tent."

"Would it help to have some company?" Harry asked. "Dobby!"

There was a pop and Dobby appeared. Harry had wanted to call him anyway, because Dobby actually had an odd fascination with Quidditch that amused Harry—since Dobby was the one to cause him to almost lose one match at Hogwarts when he enchanted a bludger to chase Harry around.

Dobby looked around and clapped his hands. "Master Harry called me?"

"Do you know Winky, Dobby?" Harry asked.

Dobby looked over and grinned wide. "Winky! I is not seeing you in long time."

Winky looked up and smiled. "Dobby. I is hearing you becoming house elf for the great Harry Potter." She gasped then and looked at Harry. "Harry Potter, sir!"

Harry chuckled. "That's me."

Winky buried her head in her hands again, but this time it seemed more out of embarrassment. Dobby took the seat next to her and soon the house elves were whispering excitedly to each other. Harry turned back around and left them to it.

"Harry?" Ron asked from several seats down. "You have a house elf?"

"I wrote to you about it, Ron," Harry said. "Remember? I got Dobby freed before I knew what that meant, so I offered for him to become my house elf at the beginning of the summer."

Ron frowned, but after one glance at the two elves, didn't say anything more.

Hermione pulled out the program she'd bought and began looking through it. "Seems there will be a display of the teams' mascots before the match."

"Oh, that will be fun," Sirius said. "What do you reckon Ireland will have?"

"Leprechauns, likely," Bill said. Arthur nodded. "Not sure about Bulgaria, though."

"Could have dragons," Charlie said. "We have a couple breeds native to Bulgaria on the reservation."

The box gradually began to fill up and eventually Harry had to call Dobby to stand at his feet so that someone could sit in the seat he'd been in talking to Winky. Sirius and Mr. Weasley were both busy greeting people. Harry observed a number of people apologizing to Sirius about the nature of his imprisonment.

"Obviously the Ministry needs to take another look at how we regulate our justice system," one man with a lord ring on his finger said. "The Wizengamot has been up in arms about it. How the, at that time heir, of an Ancient and Noble House could have been thrown into that dreadful place without a trial. Well, it could have happened to any of us."

Hermione nodded happily at the conversation. "I do hope things start to change," she whispered to Harry. "I don't want to see the British Ministry become more corrupt than it already seems."

"Agreed."

The Minister of Magic arrived then, gesturing excitedly to a man wearing black velvet robes trimmed with gold. Fudge paused as he saw Sirius. He looked around wildly for a moment at the lords and ladies who had already greeted Sirius and now waited to see what Fudge would do.

"Ah… Lord Black…." Fudge pulled at his robes. "I wasn't aware you were allowed into the country, um."

"Not allowed into the country?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Am I to assume that I have been exiled from the place that has been my family's ancestral home since before Hogwarts was founded?"

"I, well, no, that would be…." Fudge gulped. "It's just, you haven't been given your trial yet—"

"But I got a trial," Sirius said coolly. "In front of the entire IWC court. With the strongest truth serum known to wizard-kind and several truth spells on top of that. Is Britain not a signatory of the 1843 IWC treaty? I recall Lord Blishwick and Lady Bones being there as Britain's representatives."

Fudge looked around again, but no one seemed to want to help him out. "Well, yes, of course. In that case, welcome back, Lord Black. Um, I'm sure the aurors can help you reclaim your reparations." He looked around Sirius and saw Harry. "Ah! Mr. Potter! It has been too long."

Harry took a step back and didn't accept Fudge's hand. "Minister," he said politely.

Fudge let his hand drop and turned to his companion. "Do you know Harry Potter? You know, the boy who survived… yes you know." He smiled nervously. "This is the Bulgarian minister. Doesn't understand a word of English. Where is Barty Crouch when you need him, huh?"

"Lord Crouch can speak over two hundred languages," Percy whispered to Ron, who ignored him.

"Ah, Lucius!" Fudge said.

Harry, Hermione, and Sirius looked sharply at the entrance of the Top Box as the Malfoy family walked in. Lucius Malfoy flashed icy blue eyes from Sirius to Harry and Harry glared back. Sirius rested a protective hand on Harry's shoulder.

The whole box seemed to pause at the tension that suddenly reverberated through the still air. Even Fudge seemed to notice, for he froze with wide eyes.

"Lord Malfoy," Sirius said finally, his voice hard.

"Lord Black," Lucius said back, a sneer obvious on his face.

Sirius looked left and his hand on Harry's shoulder tightened in what might have been pain. "Narcissa."

"Sirius," Narcissa murmured.

Harry noticed Draco looked from his mother to Sirius. A strange look passed over his cool blue eyes, and then he noticed Harry watching. Harry paused, expecting a sneer.

He got one, but it was delayed. Harry glanced left in time to see Lucius look away from his son. Draco's face smoothed out, becoming a mask of indifference.

Harry frowned, confused, but then Crouch arrived and broke the moment. Harry noticed the man dismiss Winky without so much a word of thanks. Hermione seemed to have noticed it as well, for she scowled.

Harry bent down and asked Dobby if he wanted to stay and watch the game, or go find Winky and catch up more. Dobby glanced nervously at where the Malfoys were sitting. Harry wasn't sure they'd noticed the house elf yet, which was a blessing. He didn't want that confrontation.

"Dobby is going to find Winky," Dobby whispered and then popped away. Harry sat up again, sad the elf would be missing the game. Well, Harry's omnioculars would be recording the match, so maybe Harry could let Dobby use them later.

Ludo Bagman rushed into the box. "Everyone ready?"

Harry sat back and listened to Bagman begin his commentating. The large screen opposite of them read BLUGARIA: 0, IRELAND: 0. He felt excitement spark in his gut.

The Bulgarian mascots took the field and Harry gasped and turned to Hermione. "Veela!"

Harry and Hermione had been able to meet Fleur's grandmother, a full-blood veela, that summer briefly. She'd been beautiful even in her age, but these hundred veela simply shone. Harry noticed all around the stadium as the dominants took on that half-crazed expression that said they were being affected by the allure. He and Hermione laughed as Sirius quickly plugged his ears to stay unaffected. Most of the Weasleys did as well, except for Ron.

Harry snorted as Ron stood and began to wave at the veela below. George pulled him back, also laughing.

"George is submissive, then," Hermione said as they noticed he was similarly unaffected.

Harry nodded. The veela dance seemed almost finished and some strange curiosity had him turning around just enough to see the rest of the box. He noticed most of the lords and ladies either had their ears plugged, or were holding onto their spouses' hands. Fleur had told them that those who had full marriage bonds were unaffected by veela allure, and similarly bonded veelas weren't able to give off allure either.

Harry's eyes narrowed as he noticed that Lord Malfoy had his ears plugged, though discreetly. Draco did as well, giving proof that the younger Malfoy was dominant, not that Harry had really doubted it with the way people like Pansy were all over him at Hogwarts.

"Do they not have a full marriage bond?" Hermione whispered after Harry had pointed that out.

"Full marriage bonds have to be consensual," Harry whispered back. "Right? Which is why pure arranged marriages have gone out of style, in comparison to full courtships."

"Oh, yeah." Hermione frowned and threw another glance toward Narcissa. "That's so sad."

Harry nodded, but was soon distracted by the arrival of the Irish mascots.

The leprechaun show was fantastic, though Sirius laughed at Ron and Ginny scrambling for the gold. "Leprechaun gold doesn't last," he told them. "No point in picking it up."

"Really?" Ron asked, looking mightily disappointed.

The game started then. Harry put his omnioculars to his eyes and watched in wonder as both teams took to the sky.

It was a fast-paced game. The Irish team was extremely skilled, but the Bulgarian team was rougher and unafraid of doling out dirty hits. Krum performed a Wronski Feint halfway through, causing the Irish seeker to crash. Harry winced in sympathy, but the mediwizards got Lynch straightened out soon enough.

"He's really good," Harry told Hermione.

Hermione nodded, though she seemed a bit disapproving. "That was really dangerous. You'd best not try to do that at school, Harry James Potter."

Harry laughed and turned back to the game.

The game got heated as fouls started being called on both sides, though especially the Bulgarian. The veela became outraged and turned into their harpy form. The aurors came down to try to contain the creatures, and then Quigley, an Irish beater, hit a bludger straight at Krum. It hit him square in the face and broke his nose.

Harry's breath caught as Krum raced, blood streaming from his broken nose, toward where Lynch had seen the snitch.

People were yelling and shouting and Harry winced as Lynch crashed for the second time… and right into the horde of angry veela. Krum pulled up just in time, snitch in hand.

"It's over!" Harry yelled.

"IRELAND WINS!" Bagman shouted.

The crowd was in an uproar over the end. Bulgaria lost by just ten points.

"That was very brave," Hermione said, watching Krum. "Stupid, but brave."

"Agreed." Harry smirked, thinking of the Krum figurine he was planning on getting Hermione.

"Vell, ve fought bravely," said the Bulgarian minister.

Fudge gaped. "You can speak English!"

Harry groaned at their ridiculous minister as the Bulgarian minister smiled wide at him and told Fudge it was funny. Fudge couldn't say anything to that.

The Bulgarian team came up to the Top Box, and shook hands with Fudge and then their own minister. Harry nudged Hermione as Krum walked past and she shot him a soft glare. Harry had to admit, Krum wasn't unattractive, even with the still-bloody nose. His shoulders were broad and he walked confidently, if a bit flat-footed.

The Irish team came then and accepted their trophy. Harry clapped and cheered, grinning wide the whole time.

Later, as they walked back to their tent, he thanked Sirius. "That was one of the best Quidditch games I've ever seen."

"Glad you enjoyed it, pup," Sirius said. He ruffled Harry's hair. "You too, Hermione?"

"I suppose," Hermione said, but they both saw right through her. She'd had fun.

They retreated back to their tent. Harry's mind raced with memories of the game, until finally he fell into an exhausted sleep.

o-o

Sirius woke them in the middle of the night. "Death Eaters," he said, his face pale and his eyes hard. "They're setting fire to the tents. I need you two to hide in the woods."

"Sirius!" Harry said, grabbing his godfather's arm. "What are you going to do?"

"Don't worry about me," Sirius told him. "I've been fighting Death Eaters since before you were born."

That didn't reassure Harry, but Hermione tugged him along. They ran through the blaze. "Dobby!" Harry called. His house elf popped in next to them. "Help us find Ron!"

Dobby did some house elf magic, the equivalent of a Point Me spell, and they were off again. They ran into the Ron at the outskirts of the forest. He was shouting something at Draco Malfoy, who lounged against a tree in direct sight of the Death Eaters carnage.

Draco flicked his gaze to Harry and Hermione, before turning his attention back to Ron. "Shut it, Weasley," he said. "You'd better run along."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Ron yelled.

Draco straightened up from the tree. "Do what you want, but it's irresponsible of you to stay here and keep your  _friends_  into danger. Or don't you realize that both Potter and Granger are in trouble?"

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked, glaring.

Draco sighed. "I thought you were intelligent, Granger. Not only are you still a mudblood, despite your new ward-status with the Ancient House of Black… the Dark Lord's men would also love to get their hands on Potter."

"And I suppose you want that?" Ron spat. "I'll bet your daddy dearest is out there in a mask. Bet you'd just love to see him floating Harry up in the sky like he's doing to those poor muggles."

"It doesn't matter what I want," Draco spat, a sneer back in full force. "But if you don't want that to happen, Weasel, you should  _go_. It's obvious isn't it? Potter and Granger would still be in danger otherwise, but they're both submissives, aren't they?"

Harry took a step back. "How'd you—"

Draco eyed him coolly. "Know thine enemies," he muttered. "I've always known, Potter. Do you have any idea what they did to submissives and consorts in the old war?"

Hermione let out a little gasp and pulled at Harry's arm. "We should go."

"Yes, Granger, you should." Draco turned back to his view of the campsite. His arms were crossed over his chest and though he seemed deceptively relaxed, Harry noticed that his jaw was clenched.

Harry grabbed Ron by the arm and pulled him away.

They ran into a group of Beauxbatons students as they continued on. " _Oü est Madame Maxime? Nous l'avons perdue_ —"

" _Je ne sais pas. Je suis desole,_ " Harry said. They continued past and ran next to a group of wizards surrounding some veelas. Ron was immediately struck by the allure and Harry and Hermione had to force him along.

Harry and Hermione lifted their wands and cast  _lumos_. Ron dug into his pockets and then gasped. "I lost my wand!"

"What?" Harry asked. "How could you lose your wand?"

"It's not in my pocket!"

"We can't go back for it now," Hermione said. "We'll find it later. Though you should really get a holster like Harry and me. Anyway, come on. Where are your siblings?"

"I don't know, we got separated outside the tent."

They continued to run until they were deep in the woods, and then they stopped in an empty clearing. Ron slouched against a tree. Harry and Hermione stood together and held their wands high. It was quieter now.

" _Morsmordre_!" Someone shouted from a nearby clump of trees and then things got very confusing.

A huge skull appeared over their heads, an emerald serpent protruding from its mouth. Harry recognized it from his reading as the Dark Mark and he grasped his scar almost instinctively, though it didn't hurt.

Aurors popped onto the scene, a good twenty of them, and without thinking Harry yelled, "Duck!" and then threw himself onto the ground.

 _Stupifys_  went flying over their heads, not ceasing until Arthur Weasley appeared and yelled at them to stop.

"Ron, Harry, Hermione, are you alright?" Arthur asked as they got to their feet.

Lord Crouch approached, scowling. "Which of you cast the Mark?"

"We didn't!" Hermione said.

The aurors began arguing, saying that they were just kids and then Ron shouted that it wasn't them and then Hermione pointed to the spot in the woods they'd heard the spell come from.

Sirius appeared then, fury on his face as he heard that the team of aurors had shot stunners at his wards. Harry accepted the man's hug and stayed with Sirius' arm around him. Hermione tucked in on Sirius' other side, both of them grateful that their guardian was unhurt from fighting the Death Eaters.

And then Winky was found in the spot the spell had come from, Ron's wand on her.

Harry and Hermione watched, aghast, as Winky was questioned. Eventually, it was decided she couldn't have cast the spell… and yet, Crouch barely even thought about it before giving her clothes and dismissing her from his service for the damage to his reputation.

Winky collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Sirius began to pull Harry and Hermione away as Arthur did the same for Ron, except Hermione slipped out of Sirius' grasp.

"Winky?" she asked, kneeling next to the elf. "Winky, it's okay, I won't let you starve. Come on with us, okay?"

Crouch began to protest, but Sirius glared at the man. "You just freed her, you've got no more right to her," he said. He helped Hermione pick the sobbing house elf up and they walked away from the whole mess.

They made it back to their tent, which luckily had survived the attack intact. Harry called Dobby as they sat Winky down on the small sofa inside and the house elf hovered over her, wringing his hands.

"Look, Winky," Harry said after several minutes, about to offer her to be bound to him like Dobby was, but then Hermione interrupted him.

"Hey, Winky, I know I'm not part of a big family, but what would you say about becoming my house elf?" Hermione asked. "You see, I need a personal elf who can help me when I start navigating through traditional courtship. Harry has Dobby for that, but I don't have one."

Winky blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Miss is traditional submissive?"

"Her name is Hermione Granger, Winky," Sirius said. "And she's my ward."

"Lord Black's submissive ward is needing a house elf?" Winky looked between them. "You is not having one who knows proper robes and veils?"

"Exactly," Hermione said. "And you can help Dobby with Harry's stuff."

Dobby nodded. "Dobby is used to being personal elf for dominant wizards, he is. He is not wanting to mess things up for Master Harry."

"Winky is knowing what to do," she said. "But Winky is a bad elf. Winky was… was freed." She began crying again, but Hermione grabbed her hands and held them.

"Your last master wasn't a very nice man, Winky. I promise I'll be a better mistress, if you want me?"

It was a quick process after that to convince Winky to be bound to Hermione. They said the ritual words and in a blinding flash, Winky's old tea towel was replaced with a soft brown one. It didn't have a crest on it, not like Dobby's did, but Winky seemed happy anyway.

Harry told Dobby to get Winky settled in the elf quarters at Hallows Hold. He, Hermione, and Sirius took down the tent and an hour later they apparated back to the stone house, exhausted and drained.

Over breakfast, Sirius told them what had happened on his end. "It was a mess," he said. "Death Eaters cursing everyone and the aurors were in chaos trying to help the crowd and get everyone to safety."

"Did they catch any of them?" Hermione asked.

"Not enough," Sirius said. "Most of them disapparated as things came to an end, but we did get a couple." He grinned. "That Bill Weasley is quite a duelist. He helped distract one while I got the man twirling the little muggle girl. You'll never guess who it turned out to be."

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Why, Lucius Malfoy!" Sirius laughed. "It was perfect. Caught red-handed, he was. Can't claim to be imperioed now. Ten aurors saw him demasked and we all saw what he was doing to that poor muggle girl."

"Is the family okay?" Hermione asked.

"They'll be fine. Had to obliviated to the gills, but the mediwizards said they'll recover no problem."

"I can't believe Malfoy got caught," Harry said. "I just hope he doesn't bribe his way out of a trial."

"Oh, don't worry," Sirius said, his eyes glinting. "I won't let him."

o-o

The trials of Lucius Malfoy and Evan Rosier happened three days before Hogwarts was to start up again. Harry and Hermione stayed in Hallows Hold, but Sirius went to both trials and reported after.

Apparently, since the attack had happened during an international event, the IWC claimed rights to preside over the two trials. Harry guessed that they didn't trust the British ministry to do it right, not after the fiasco with Sirius' trial. The plus side was that both Malfoy and Rosier were given veritaserum and hit with truth spells like Sirius had been and there was no chance of them lying their way out.

Harry read  _The Daily Prophet_  the morning after. It had printed a full transcript of the trial. Rosier had been sentenced to life in Azkaban far easier than his co-conspirator, because Malfoy's part was a huge scandal.

"People are wondering why he was never questioned with veritaserum originally," Hermione said, reading from her own copy of  _The Prophet_. "Oh, and look at this, a vote of no confidence has been called on Fudge, because he had Malfoy as his advisor for years and never questioned the man."

"That's crazy," Harry said. "They sure turned on him quick."

"I think Britain is finally waking up," Sirius said. "They may still believe You-Know-Who is gone… and for the most part, at the moment anyway, he is, but that doesn't mean there aren't still minor Death Eater terrorist attacks that happen every once and awhile. We've been living in incompetence for years."

Harry glanced down at a large section on the fifth page. "Malfoy, er… Draco I mean, he claimed his title."

"Already?" Hermione quickly flipped to the right page. "It's only been a day."

"The little Malfoy didn't waste any time," Sirius murmured. "It happened at the end of Lucius' trial. As soon as Malfoy was incarcerated, the lord ring began to burn him. He had to take it off and it flew on its own over to Draco. Practically begged him to hold it. Lucius was pissed, told Draco not to take it."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"He grabbed it right out of the air and glared at his father in front of the entire IWC court and all the spectators and reporters. He said, and I quote, 'You've had your turn ruining the Malfoy name, Father. Not even our ancestors approve of you any longer.'"

"And then Malfoy Sr. replied," Hermione said, reading from  _The Prophet_. "He said, 'You don't believe they'll approve of you, do you, Draco? You're hardly fit to wear that ring, little spoilt boy that you are?' Oh my."

Sirius nodded. "It was tense. Draco slipped the ring on right then and there and, to everyone's surprise, not only did the ring accept him, it gave off a huge magical charge. We all felt it. It was like the ring had just been waiting."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked, stunned.

"Means little Draco is now Lord Malfoy," Sirius said. "He's a fully emancipated adult. Able to do all things adult wizards can."

"But he's only fourteen!" Hermione stated.

"Doesn't matter, the family ring accepted him. He's a lord now, that includes all the responsibilities that go along with that." Sirius frowned. "James became Lord Potter our sixth year. It was hard on him having to balance all the workload. He had to get permission from Dumbledore to leave Hogwarts to go to Wizengamot sessions, and he had his own room and office. It will be difficult for the new Lord Malfoy, but if the ring accepted him then he's ready to take on the task."

Harry and Hermione exchanged stunned looks. They had nothing to say to that, really.

"I'm going to write him," Sirius said, more to himself then to them. "Narcissa is out from Lucius' hands now, but I still need Draco's permission to talk to her." He sighed.

"He'll grant it," Hermione said. "He has to."

"We can hope," Sirius said. He stood from the table. "I've got work to do, but let's go flying later today, okay Harry?"

Harry nodded and Sirius left. He turned to Hermione. "Only two days left."

"We should look over our summer homework one more time," Hermione said, biting her bottom lip.

"We already proofed them five times, Hermione. They're the best they can be." Harry sighed as Hermione continued to look anxious. "How about we look over the Potions textbook again. Can never hurt to read ahead for Snape's class."

Hermione nodded and they headed to the den for a calm day of reading.

o-o

September the first dawned bright and cheery. Harry wore simple trousers and a blazer. It was technically wizarding wear, for all it would blend into the muggle world. Hermione had on a similar outfit. Both were cut in the submissive trend, as had been explained by their tailor over the summer.

The news that Harry was a submissive hadn't broken yet in the news, but Harry supposed that was only because of all the other news there had been. Sirius and several of the Weasleys had a bet going on how long it would take. The twins especially were hoping to make back the money they'd lost to Bagman—who'd given them leprechaun gold instead of real galleons when they'd won the bet at the World Cup.

"Ready?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded, holding Hedwig's cage in one hand and his trunk in the other. Hermione had Crookshanks' cat carrier sitting on the floor, trying to handle it and both of her trunks.

Sirius snorted and grabbed one of Hermione's trunks for her. He scooped up some floo powder and threw it into the fire. "Platform Nine and Three Quarters!"

Harry copied Sirius, and then Hermione came after. They quickly got out of the way as more people came through the floo behind them. The Hogwarts Express was already there, white steam billowing from its engines.

"Have a good year, you two," Sirius said. He hugged Harry, then Hermione. "I'll see you both over the winter hols, and you'd best write, often."

"We will," Hermione promised.

"Especially if any dominants start looking at you," Sirius warned. "Or if you're interested in anyone. I don't want to be blindsided by permissions for courtship, and I don't want to accept anyone you don't even like."

"Yes, Sirius," Harry said. "You already told us, we promise to let you know."

"Okay." Sirius ruffled Harry's hair and then kissed Hermione on the forehead. "Be good, but not too good!"

Harry laughed and helped Hermione get her two trunks onto the train and into an end compartment. The Weasleys always got to King's Cross late, so they didn't bother looking for Ron.

The compartment door opened a few minutes later, revealing Neville. He flushed and then nervously smiled as he spotted them.

"Hey, Nev," Harry said. "Want to join us?"

"Is that okay?" Neville asked shyly.

"Sure," Hermione said. "You look good, Nev."

"Thanks," Neville said, smoothing down his blazer. "My gran got me a new set of clothes this summer."

"Submissive wear too, huh?" Harry said.

Neville nodded. "She got me a new wand as well."

"Why'd you need a new wand?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, um, I was using my dad's before." Neville looked down at his hands. "But I told my gran this summer that I wasn't dominant like my dad was and she… she was upset at first but then she said that I can't be expected to use a great dominant like my dad's wand and so I had to get my own. And that if I was going to be a submissive of the Longbottom House I had to be dressed right. And that I'd better find a good dominant, because they'll be taking over the title of Lord or Lady Longbottom. She has very strict rules about approving someone to court me."

"Woah," Harry said. "That sounds… I'm sorry, Nev."

Neville smiled. "No no, I'm sorry for dumping that on you. It's okay, really. I like my wand load's more. And the clothes fit me better, too."

"They really look good on you," Hermione said.

"You two," Neville said. "I noticed. And I like your hair, Hermione."

"Well, the three of us are Gryffindor fourth year submissives. I don't know about Lavander or Parvati or anyone else, but we, at least, should stick together," Harry said. "I know Ron and Seamus are dominant. I bet Dean is too. So the two of us will have each other in the boy's dorm."

"Yeah." Neville looked happy at that. "That'll be good."

Ron arrived just as the train was about to leave. He frowned at Neville. "What are you doing in our compartment?"

"We invited him, Ron," Hermione said. "Don't be rude. It's not like we don't have enough room."

Ron sat down in the empty seat next to Harry, still frowning, but Harry distracted him with a game of exploding snap and that was that. Hermione helped Neville go over his Potions summer homework as the train began rolling its way toward a new year at Hogwarts.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Percy was supposed to have graduated. Just pretend he's a year younger cause he's going to play a big-ish role in this story and I'd rather a character we all know than an OC Head Boy.

Harry's Hogwarts robes covered his submissively-tailored clothing, but he saw a number of older students double-take as he passed them on the way to the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast. Even after Bill had said so, he hadn't been sure that other students would be able to just tell that he was submissive.

Well, those who were a bit more oblivious would figure it out soon enough. Harry wasn't looking to hide it.

Harry sat at the middle of the Gryffindor table, facing toward the rest of the house tables. Hermione sat on his left, Neville on his right, and Ron across from him. Lavender Brown slipped into the seat across from Hermione, Parvati next to her. Seamus took the other seat by Ron and Dean sat to his right.

The Sorting began and Harry watched as the young first years were divided between the four houses. Then Dumbledore stood and spread his arms to welcome the students. Harry saw the man look in his direction and he dropped his eyes, refusing to give the man a chance to non-verbally reprimand him.

Dumbledore said very little, just telling them to "tuck in" and then the food appeared.

"I wonder how many house elves Hogwarts has," Hermione said as she began eating.

"Just around one hundred, I hear," Seamus said. "Um, how was the rest of your summer, Hermione, Harry?"

"Good," Harry said. He cast his gaze across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy sat in the center of the table, surrounded by a number of older students that Harry didn't recognize. He did know Blaise Zabini though, who sat on Draco's left, and Theodore Nott who sat on his right. Every once and a while, Harry noticed Draco lean over and whisper something into Nott's ear. Nott smiled every time he did so and scooted a little closer to Draco.

"Was it scary, living with an ex-convict?" Parvati asked, causing Harry's attention to turn back to the Gryffindors.

"I mean, of course he's innocent, but he spent twelve years in Azkaban, didn't he?" Lavender continued.

"Sirius is perfectly sane," Hermione said, sniffing.

From several seats down, Fay Dunbar leaned over. She was the Gryffindor yearmate Harry knew the least, because she often hung out with the fifth year girls and ignored especially Parvati and Lavender. "I imagine Lord Black is a good lord guardian to have," she said. "After all, everyone's so scared of him, that only a dominant really serious about either of you will risk asking for his permission to court you."

"No kidding," Seamus muttered.

Harry exchanged an amused glance with Hermione. "How'd you know Sirius was our lord guardian, Fay?"

"Unlike some I pay attention to more news than just  _The Daily Prophet_. The papers in France and Germany had sections on Lord Black's new guardianship halfway through the summer." Fay placed a hand on her chin and in a flash of insight, Harry realized the fourteen-year-old was dominant. He hadn't been able to tell at first, but the way she held herself now made it clear.

Harry noticed that every other Gryffindor close enough to hear their conversation had stopped talking in order to listen in.

"Harry?" a tentative voice asked. Harry looked over and smiled at Colin Creevey.

"Yes, Colin?" Harry asked.

"What's a lord guardian?" Colin asked.

Harry remembered then that Colin was a muggleborn. He looked to Hermione for help.

Hermione frowned. "Being lord guardian means that Sirius is in charge of vetting through the courtship offers of dominants who want to court Harry or I," she said. "And other responsibilities of that nature. Only dominants can be the head of a family, so until Harry gets married, Sirius is also in charge of the Potter estate."

Colin's mouth fell open slightly. He'd obviously heard nothing about this before, but Harry wasn't surprised about that.

"You know," Alicia Spinnet said from near the end of the table. "In the other houses, they have inter-house lessons on wizarding culture."

"Yeah," Angelina Johnson agreed. "Most Slytherins come from the wizarding world, but the occasional that doesn't are taught early. Ravenclaws do lessons every Saturday for all the first years taught by the prefects. And the Hufflepuffs have a sort of big brother or sister system."

"Why don't we do that?" Hermione asked.

"We used to," Lee Jordan said. "My first year we did, but it stopped…." He frowned. "Hang on, why did we stop tutoring the first years?"

"I can't remember," Percy said. He tapped his Head Boy badge. "That's not right. Prefects, we'll have a meeting on this tonight. We can't have Gryffindor fall behind the other houses. Ignorant is the worst thing a person can be."

Ron leaned forward. "Percy's still upset because he really liked Fudge, but then there was the whole thing about how Fudge was just following Malfoy blindly."

"Huh." Harry glanced at the Head Boy again. He had nothing against Percy necessarily, though he could be a bit overbearing sometimes. Still, if Percy was going to head getting the muggle-raised Gryffindors informed, then all the better for it.

The conversation turned to inane matters then. The feast soon drew to a close and Dumbledore stood once more.

The headmaster began with information from Filch on forbidden objects, and then he announced that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup would not be taking place this year. Harry gaped. All across the hall, students let out upset sounds, until Dumbledore quieted them down. Just as he was about to explain why, the Great Hall doors slammed open.

Harry turned to watch as a man made his way slowly across the Great Hall. His face was scarred and one eye had been replaced with a magical eye that seemed to move independently of the other. Harry swallowed dryly, suddenly intimidated though he quickly bolstered himself.

Dumbledore introduced the strange man as Professor Moody, the new DADA professor. Harry felt Hermione slip a hand into his. He didn't have good experiences with his first two Defense professors. He could only hope Moody followed more along the lines of Lupin, not Quirrell or Lockhart.

Moody settled down and then Dumbledore went back to explaining that this year Hogwarts would be hosting the Triwizard Tournament. He explained that students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons would be coming to Hogwarts to participate.

"There is an age line which will be in place from this tournament," Dumbledore said. "Only those of age will be allowed to participate." Dumbledore looked to the Slytherin table and Harry saw at Draco lifted his chin. "That being those over the age of seventeen, or those who have been emancipated by the Ministry."

Ron bemoaned that he was too young and Fred and George joined in. The students began to leave their seats and head toward their dormitories. Harry and Hermione walked slowly, staying close together as they'd began used to doing over the summer.

"I'm glad they have an age rule," Hermione said. "It sounds dangerous."

"Agreed," Harry said. "I wouldn't want to participate. I get in enough trouble as is."

Hermione snorted. "Do you suppose Fleur will be coming to Hogwarts?"

"I hadn't thought… but it would be great if she did!" Harry grinned. "We should write and ask."

"Or you can get me that enchanted mirror a few weeks early," Hermione suggested.

Harry rubbed his nose. "But then what would I get you on your actual birthday?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

"You've become spoiled."

Hermione hit his arm and Harry laughed.

o-o

"Professor McGonagall?"

"Come in, Mr. Potter."

"Thanks." Harry stepped into the Transfiguration professor's office. "I was wondering if you've given any thought to my request."

McGonagall set aside the papers she'd been grading and gestured for Harry to sit down. "I have thought about it, but tell me again why you want to make this switch?"

"To be frank, Professor, Divination is a useless subject," Harry said. "All Trelawney does is predict my death. I learn nothing from it." He saw the way McGonagall's mouth twitched and knew he had her, at least on that point.

"Be that as it may," McGonagall said. "You can't just have one elective."

"Which is why I want to get put into Arithmancy," Harry said. "I took muggle math for all of primary school and from what Hermione says, it wouldn't be hard for me to catch up as much of last year was all about learning those basic formulas. This year is where things get more in depth with the magical side of it."

"That is true," McGonagall said. "I did talk to Professor Vector and she agreed that if you passed the end of the year exam that she usually gave to the third years, you could join the fourth year class. If you don't, then I'm afraid I can't allow you to drop Divination."

"I understand. When can I take the test?"

McGonagall cast a quick  _tempus_  and frowned at the time. "I believe Professor Vector has class with the sixth years right now. She should be free tonight after dinner though. I'll tell her to expect you. Do you know where her office is?"

"Hermione can tell me. Thanks Professor!"

"For your sake, Mr. Potter, I do hope you pass."

Harry grinned at his head of house and nodded. He swung his pack over his right shoulder and headed to Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione and Ron were probably already there. Luckily Hagrid wasn't the kind to get upset if he ended up being a few minutes late.

As Harry was passing through one of the lesser-travelled corridors, he came across an upper-year Slytherin crowding another male. Harry took a step closer and realized the cornered figure was Theodore Nott. The fellow fourth year looked nervous.

Harry frowned. Something was going on here. He cast a disillusionment charm on himself and crept closer. Luckily the Slytherins were too distracted to sense his magical energy.

"I won't ask again," the older Slytherin said.

"I said no, Gordon," Nott told him, a barely noticeable quiver in his rejection.

"No is not an acceptable answer," Gordon stated. He took a step closer. Nott brought his wand up, but Gordon caught his wrist with a large hand and Nott's wand went clattering to the floor.

"Draco will—" Nott began.

"Think your boyfriend will save you?" Gordon grinned as Nott flushed. "That's right, he won't. You're not actually being courted by him."

"My father—" Nott began again.

"Thinks I'm a good match for you," Gordon stated. "Stop fighting. You're mine already."

"I will never be yours." Nott pulled his hand away.

Gordon slammed his hand against the wall by Nott's head. "You've got no choice in the matter. You'll be fifteen in three months." Gordon used a rough hand to tilt Nott's head up. "I suppose I can wait."

Harry saw how Nott relaxed. He was close enough now to see the glint in Gordon's eyes at that. "But why would I?" the older Slytherin continued. "When I can have you right now?"

Harry hissed before he could help it. Both Slytherins froze and looked around. Harry blinked and then smirked. He hissed again, letting the parseltongue slide off his lips.

"Who's there?" Gordon said, taking a step back from Nott. "Show yourself!"

Harry deepened his voice as much as he could. "Little sssssnake." He said with a distinct lisp. "How dare you hurt my nessstling?"

Gordon gulped. "This isn't funny!"

"Funny?" Harry carefully walked around the other side of Gordon. "I am never funny. Sssstep away from my nessstling."

Gordon was Slytherin to the core. It took no more convincing than that for him to turn tail and retreat. Nott stayed in place, his eyes darting to and from. Harry stepped back and turned to head to Magical Creatures.

" _Finite Incantatum!"_

Harry winced as his disillusionment charm dissolved. He looked back. Nott still had his wand pointed at him. Harry held up his hands in a placating gesture. Nott stared at him for a long minute. Harry lowered his hands and nodded. He turned around again.

Nott said nothing as Harry turned the corner out of sight.

o-o

Hermione scowled. "That's awful!"

Harry nodded. He'd just relayed to her what he'd seen between Gordon and Nott the day before. They'd been distracted yesterday with Harry getting placed in her Arithmancy class. It was Saturday afternoon now and they'd finally gotten the chance to sit alone in the common room.

Hermione was sickened at the thought of what Gordon had insinuated. "His dominant parent must have entered him into an arranged marriage contract," she muttered. "You know they're only valid after a submissive turns at least fifteen."

"That's messed up," Harry said.

Hermione sighed. "I wish there was something we could do to help him. I've never liked Ben Gordon."

"There's nothing Nott can do to get out of it?"

Hermione thought over what she'd read on arranged marriages. "With the kind of contract it probably is… I think if he enters into courtship with someone before he turns fifteen, then the person courting him will have the option of challenging Gordon to a duel."

"Malfoy might do that," Harry said. Hermione blinked. Harry suddenly looked a bit defensive. "I mean, they just seem pretty close."

"I guess," Hermione said. "It'd have to be permanent though. He couldn't just do it as a friend. Whoever wins would have to marry Nott, no exceptions."

"Damn."

"Language," Hermione scolded, ignoring Harry's eye roll. "Still, neither of us are dominant so there's really nothing we can do about it." She hated the thought. She wasn't one to give up, but in this situation she really didn't know what they could do to help Nott. Besides, it wasn't like they were friends—however much Hermione figured it was awful to force  _anyone_  into an arranged marriage.

Harry sighed, but said no more on the subject. Hermione figured she'd pick up some more books on arranged marriages in the library if she got free time this weekend, but she wasn't hopeful about finding anything else.

"Did you finish your letter to Sirius?" Harry asked. "I'm going to have Hedwig take them."

Hermione nodded and reached into her bag to dig out the letter. "I'll come with you to the owlery."

They stood together and headed out of the common room. Ron didn't even notice them getting up from where he was half asleep on one of the cushy armchairs and Hermione didn't bother going over to inform him they were leaving.

Halfway to the owlery, Hermione felt something clench in her gut. She paused, placing a hand over her abdomen. She wasn't due for her time of the month for another week. It'd be strange to be cramping already.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked, turning to her.

"I… I'm fine," Hermione said, though she wasn't entirely sure. She took a step forward and the spasm in her gut intensified. She gasped and stumbled to her knees.

"Hermione!" Harry cried. His voice sounded far away.

Hermione felt as though she was dreaming. Everything was hazy. Her abdomen was on fire. She fell down to her elbows, heaving dryly.

Hands grabbed at her and she flinched away. "No!" she cried, but it sounded too weak to her ears. "Stop."

Someone was murmuring something. Hermione tried to focus on the words, but they were getting harder and harder to understand with each new wave of agony coming from her gut.

A warm hand touched the back of her neck and Hermione lost all conscious thought.

o-o

Harry could barely remember the last time he'd been so worried. The older Hufflepuff dominant who was holding Hermione glanced up at him. His friend had gone running for a professor.

"Dobby!" Harry called. His house elf popped next to him and then immediately pointed his long finger at the Hufflepuff.

"Bad wizard step away from young mistress!" Dobby said in a growling squeak.

"No, Dobby, he's helping," Harry said. "I need you to go get Sirius. Tell him something happened to Hermione."

Dobby lowered his finger and nodded. He popped away a second later. Harry called Winky next. She reacted in much the same way as Dobby, until Harry explained. As soon as he did, she lowered her finger and began wringing her hands.

"Winky do you have any way to tell what's wrong with her?" Harry asked.

Winky shook her head. "Winky is not knowing. Winky is a bad elf."

"It's not your fault," Harry reassured her.

Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey arrived just then, the female Hufflepuff who'd gotten them just a step behind. The mediwitch shooed the male Hufflepuff away from Hermione and began casting diagnostic charms on the witch.

"Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked. "Mr. Diggory, Miss Boot?"

"She just collapsed, Professor," Harry said. "We were walking to the owlery and she stopped and then fell on the ground."

"Did you see or hear a spell being cast?" McGonagall questioned.

Harry shook his head. "No, Professor." He looked at Pomfrey. "She was clutching her stomach before she fell."

"She's having an allergic reaction," Pomfrey stated. The mediwitch looked to where Winky was watching. "Are you her personal elf?"

"Yes, Miss Healer," Winky said.

"What is Miss Granger allergic to?" Pomfrey asked.

"Shellfish is all, Miss Healer," Winky said. "I watch make sure she not accidentally eat any, I do!"

"I'm sure you do," Pomfrey said. She looked up and exchanged a dark glance with McGonagall.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

Pomfrey shook her head. "Come, we must take her to the infirmary."

"You three, with us," McGonagall said as Pomfrey levitated the unconscious girl.

Harry looked to Diggory and Boot as they walked. Diggory looked as confused as he did, but Boot had a dark scowl on her face.

"Can you explain?" Harry asked Boot softly.

Boot looked at him and then at Diggory. Diggory put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The older Hufflepuff exuded calm dominance, causing both Boot and Harry to relax slightly.

"All I know is that shellfish is a common ingredient in some love potions," Boot said.

Harry felt rage darken his world for a moment. He came to as Diggory stepped over and lightly touched his arm.

"You work well under pressure," Diggory murmured. "Few submissives do. I'm impressed, Potter."

"Harry is fine," he said, flushing a bit. "And I've had practice."

Boot snorted, but it was a friendly sound. "So my little brother tells me."

"Terry, right?" Harry asked. "Ravenclaw in my year?"

Boot nodded. "Is it true that you banished the spirit of You-Know-Who from under Quirrell's turben?"

Harry looked ahead to where Hermione dangled in the air. He hadn't just  _banished_ Voldemort. He'd killed Quirrell. "Yeah," he said softly. "I guess I did."

Diggory's hand on his arm tightened just briefly before he let go. "Even more impressed," the dominant said. "I'm Cedric, by the way. Cedric Diggory."

"Tori Boot," the female introduced.

"Neville Longbottom," Harry said, just to be funny. Cedric and Tori both cracked a smile.

They arrived at the infirmary. Hermione was levitated to one of the beds. McGonagall turned to Harry. "I need to inform Mr. Black what happened," she began.

"No need, Minerva," Dumbledore said as he walked into the infirmary. Sirius was hot on his heels. His eyes were dark and angry as he looked to where Hermione lay on the bed.

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry told his elf. Dobby waved from behind Sirius. The elf quickly joined Winky where she stood by Hermione's bed.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, his voice deeper and more dangerous than Harry had ever heard. He noticed Cedric flinch back a little and Tori took a step closer to the other Hufflepuff as if to ask for comfort.

Harry walked up to his guardian and Sirius pulled him to his side. Harry let out a deep breath and looked at Pomfrey.

The mediwitch held up a bright blue potion bottle. "I'm going to spell this into her stomach," she said. "I already banished all the reactive liquid in her body, but this will help calm her digestive system down."

"She had an allergic reaction to something with shellfish in it," McGonagall explained. "As Poppy just said, it didn't seem to be anything solid."

"Did Miss Granger eat some soup for lunch today?" Dumbledore asked Harry. "Clam chowder, perhaps?"

"Dumbledore," Sirius growled even as Harry shook his head.

"Hermione knows better than to eat anything with shellfish possibly in it," he said. "Besides, she had a ham sandwich for lunch."

"Perhaps Miss Granger accidentally—" Dumbledore began.

"You know very well that shellfish is a common ingredient in several potent love potions," Sirius said. "Don't try to avoid it." He sighed and looked over his ward. "I'm honestly glad she's allergic, else we might not have known."

"It had to have been put in her food or drink," McGonagall said. "But lunch was hours ago and the house elves will have already disposed of everything. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do to find the culprit."

"Winky, I want you to monitor everything Hermione eats and drinks for future contamination," Sirius ordered. "Can you do that?"

"Winky will not be failing her mistress, Master Black," Winky said firmly.

"Dobby be doing so for his young master too," said the other house elf.

"Thanks, Dobby," Harry said. "But I'm not allergic to shellfish. What if I already…?"

Pomfrey turned her wand on him and said a quick spell. The magic tingled through his body. She shook her head after a moment. "There is no way to tell for sure, but you have no shellfish in your body so at the very least no one tried to dose you with the same potion."

Sirius let out a relieved breath that Harry copied a second later.

o-o

Hermione woke. Harry was by her bed, holding one of her hands. She squeezed his slightly and he looked up from the book he was reading. She noticed it was  _Quidditch Through the Ages_. Harry always read that book when he needed to comfort himself.

"What happened?" she asked. Her throat was dry. Harry poured her a glass of water that she took gratefully.

"You had an allergic reaction," he said as she drank.

Hermione growled slightly and set the glass down. "Which bastard doused me with a love potion?"

Harry grinned and Hermione glared. "Sorry, it's just I was trying to figure out how to tell you but of course you already know."

"Don't avoid the question, Harry James Potter."

Harry's expression hardened. "We don't know. Sirius is really upset about it." He shook his head angrily. "But Winky and Dobby are going to be checking everything we eat from now on so it won't happen again."

Hermione looked up at the ceiling. "I've never been more glad for my allergy."

"That's practically what I said," Sirius said as he walked into the infirmary.

Hermione felt immediate relief at seeing him. "Thank you for coming."

"I'll always come when you need me," Sirius told her.

Madam Pomfrey rushed in then. Hermione listened to her instructions on eating softer foods for the next day to give her digestive system a rest and then she was released. Sirius wrapped an arm around hers and she leaned into him as he and Harry escorted her back to the Gryffindor dorm.

"Did I miss any classes?" Hermione asked, suddenly worried.

Sirius and Harry both chuckled.

"It's Saturday, you're fine," Harry said.

"Oh, right." Hermione smiled. "Good. I would hate to get behind." She still remembered the months she'd missed being petrified, though luckily she didn't remember the petrification itself. It was terrifying to wake up and learn how much time had passed. She still had nightmares about being cold and unable to move.

Sirius held her closer as she shivered. "You doing okay?"

Hermione nodded. Sirius didn't press, though he might have known it was a lie.

A group of second year Ravenclaws passed then, squeaking in terror as they caught sight of Sirius. Sirius chuckled heartily.

They reached the Fat Lady. Harry said the password. She said nothing, glaring at Sirius as she opened up. Sirius winced.

"I guess she doesn't forgive you for ripping her up last year," Hermione whispered.

"Oops?"

Harry stepped through first, and then Hermione and Sirius. Ron immediately rushed over. "Where have you two been? And why is Sirius here?"

"I'm here because some idiot put Hermione in the infirmary," Sirius said.

Ron blinked, looking from Harry to Hermione to Sirius. "Who was it?"

"We don't know," Harry said.

Ron frowned. "Did you get hurt too, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "No, just Hermione."

"I don't get it, why'd you come then Sirius?" Ron asked. "You're Harry's godfather, not Hermione's."

Hermione and Sirius both stared. "He's my magical guardian, Ron," Hermione stated.

"And lord guardian," Sirius added. "Of course I came."

"That was just for the press though, right? You don't really mean that. Hermione's muggleborn, she doesn't need a lord guardian."

Hermione felt her mouth drop open. Sirius' magical aura seemed to darken. She stepped away and Harry grasped her hand.

"How exactly does the nature of Hermione's parents affect my guardianship of her?" Sirius asked.

Ron didn't seem to notice how angry Sirius had become. Hermione saw that a crowd was gathering in the common room. Once again, she thought, Ron was making a spectacle of himself.

"Well, it's just that muggleborn submissives don't really have a lot of options, right? It's not like they know traditional courtship or anything." Ron shrugged. "All you have to do is date them a few times and do a muggle wedding."

Hermione felt something clench in her chest. For a moment, she thought it was another allergic reaction, until she realized it was just the start of tears.

"That's despicable," Sirius said. "Whether a submissive is muggleborn, halfblood, or pureblood, you treat them with respect or you stay away from them. Hermione knows exactly what to expect in terms of courtship and she more than deserves a full and exclusive courting period by any interested dominant. To assume that she doesn't just because she didn't have to opportunity to grow up knowing is horrifying behavior for someone who is supposed to be her friend."

Ron paled, finally realizing the negative nature of his words, but he didn't back down. "I'm just saying what everyone is thinking."

"No, you're not," Fay said.

"Don't put words in the mouths of the other dominants here, Weasley," Angelina hissed.

"Mum and Dad won't be happy when they hear about this," Percy stated, stepping forward. "I apologize on behalf of the Weasley family, Lord Black, for my little brother's insulting behavior toward your ward."

Sirius looked over the head boy. "I accept you apology. Make sure your brother is educated before he's allowed to attempt his friendship with both my wards again. I'd hate to have either of them feel inferior in his presence, as they are vastly superior individuals."

Percy smirked. "I can't disagree."

Ron turned and gaped at his brother, but before he could cause a scene, Fred and George appeared on either side of him and frog-marched him out of the common room, Percy following.

Hermione looked at Harry. He gave her a soft smile, which she returned. She couldn't say she hadn't been affected by Ron's words, but Sirius' defense had meant just as much.

"Come on, Hermione," Fay said, walking up. "I hear you've been through an ordeal today. I think a nap is in order."

Hermione stepped forward, only to have Sirius stop her with a hand on her shoulder. "If you don't mind, Miss Dunbar," he said. "I'd prefer if Hermione stayed in the company of other submissives for the rest of the day. I think it would help."

Hermione blinked, having not realized Fay's dynamic. She blushed as Fay nodded easily. "Of course, Lord Black."

Lavender and Parvati stepped forward. "We've got her, Lord Black," Lavender said. "Come on Hermione. Let's make a blanket fort."

Hermione smiled hesitantly. She'd never been on very good terms with either of the girls. "That sounds… fun?"

Sirius hugged her goodbye. Hermione thanked him before she was pulled away by her roommates.

"We wanted to say we're sorry," Parvati said as soon as they were encased in the relative safety of their room.

Lavender nodded. "We should have told you all about dominants and submissives before. Or at least tried to be a better friend to you. It's just…."

"It's not excuse, but we thought you wouldn't react well, seeing as you were raised by muggles," Parvati murmured.

"You guys really wanted to be my friend?" Hermione asked, stunned. "I thought you couldn't stand me!"

"Please, Hermione, you're brilliant," Lavender said.

"Even my sister says you're smarter than her," Parvati added. "And now that you know more about courtships, we can talk about dominants together."

"If you want?" Lavender offered.

Hermione looked from one to the other. She didn't really understand these girls. Sometimes they annoyed her for how shallow they seemed, but right now she understood what they were doing and she appreciated it.

"Okay," she said. "Let's make a blanket fort and talk."

"Fabulous," Parvati said, flicking her wand toward her comforter.

"Wait, should we invite Harry and Neville here?" Lavender asked. "Would you like that?"

Hermione nodded immediately. Having Harry there would make her than much more comfortable. "We're the five submissive Gryffindor fourth years, right?"

"Right," Parvati said decidedly. She left the room quickly to find the boys.

By the time they returned several minutes later, Hermione and Lavender had transfigured the room into an awesome blanket and pillow nest.

"Fay said she's going to stick with the fifth years today, so it's just us," Parvati said.

"Dobby," Harry called. His house elf popped in. "Do you and Winky mind making up snacks for us?"

Dobby nodded. "Is Harry Potter wanting to eat dinner here with his friends?"

They all exchanged glances.

"I think that'd be great," Harry said finally.

Hermione cast a quick spell and changed her robes into pajamas. "I've never had a slumber party before."

The rest of them followed her example. Soon enough, they were all encased in the fluffy surroundings, trays of candy and mugs of hot chocolate being passed around.

Lavender and Parvati weren't all that bad, even if they were a bit giggly, and they even helped get Neville out of his shell as they all talked about the attractiveness of various dominants in their year and above. Hermione had to blush as Harry related how Cedric Diggory had held her while she was unconscious. And then they moved on to teasing Neville about his crush on some unknown female dominant he refused to tell them the name of.

By the time they started the massage train and Bertie Bott's tasting contest, Hermione had forgotten all about her stay in infirmary and Ron's vile words.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione looked around at all the members of her Arithmancy class. Professor Vector hadn't arrived yet, so it gave her ample time to covertly study everyone and see if any of them were studying her back.

Sirius had come up with the idea to keep the fact that she'd found out about the love potion secret and see if anyone gave her any overdone attention, expecting her to be in love with them. Arithmancy was her first class on Mondays, so other than lunch and dinner on Sunday—during which Hermione had focused only on talking with Harry and Neville—this was the first time she really had a chance to test that theory.

So far, no one was looking at her all that much, though Draco Malfoy caught her eyes briefly when she glanced over at him. He looked away a second later, appearing bored. Hermione considered him for a moment—but no, she doubted he was the one. As much as he'd been a pain in her and Harry's arses the past three years, she didn't think he was the kind to love potion anyone. He was way too proud to allow himself to think that someone wouldn't fall for him without a potion forcing it.

Professor Vector walked in then, Harry at her heels. Hermione grinned at him and he grinned back.

"I have a quick announcement before we get started," Vector said. "As you see here, Mr. Potter will be joining our class. He took the final you all had at the end of last year and exceeded expectations. Please make him welcome."

There was a scattering of applause as Harry waved and then went over to sit in the empty seat Hermione had made sure was open for him just in case he'd be able to join them. She was really glad he had. Arithmancy was a much better subject than Divination, and besides the only other Gryffindor in the class was Fay and Hermione wasn't close enough with her to feel comfortable studying together.

"What'd you get wrong?" Hermione asked as Harry sat down. "I was expecting you to get an O, you know."

Harry scowled at her mocking tone. "Probability," he admitted. "I've never really understood the compilations."

"We'll have to go over that. I hear that's important to know for open rituals and some warding."

Harry nodded and they both directed their attention to where Vector was writing a long equation on the board.

After class, as Hermione and Harry were gathering up their notes and books, Malfoy approached them. Hermione stiffened a bit and Harry shifted so that he was slightly in front of her.

Malfoy was sharp and by the glint in his eyes, he'd noticed, but he didn't say anything about the movement. Instead, he held out his hand. "I wanted to thank you for what you did for Theo, Potter."

Hermione exchanged a glance with Harry. "Is he okay?" she asked softly.

Malfoy looked at her briefly and shook his head. "Not entirely."

"Is there anything we can do?" Harry asked, reaching forward to clasp Malfoy's outstretched hand. In a move similar to Bill's at the World Cup, Malfoy brought Harry's hand up to his mouth and kissed the air over it.

Hermione watched as a light blush appeared on Harry's cheeks. She herself was a bit stunned. This was not normal Draco Malfoy behavior—at least not the heir Malfoy that they'd gone to school with the past three years. He was Lord now, and she wondered if that was affecting him.

Malfoy let Harry go as he pulled back his hand, though there was a bit of amusement on his face now. It dropped a second later as he returned his attention back to the Theodore Nott problem. "As much as I appreciate your hero saving thing, Potter, you are submissive. There's nothing you can directly do to help Theo."

Harry's shoulders dropped. "Yeah."

Hermione frowned. "I know it's impolite to ask, but… are you going to…?"

Malfoy shook his head. "Theo would never forgive me for putting us both in a loveless marriage," he said softly. "He's my friend and I care for him, but he'd never be able to love a male dominant as he would a female and I'd be unhappy that he was unhappy."

"You don't approve of the relationship your parents had," Harry murmured, always insightful.

Malfoy's eyes flashed. "In more ways than one." He pulled back. "I'm asking around. Theo is a beautiful submissive. I still believe there's at least one female dominant in this school who is interested enough in him to rectify this situation."

Hermione nodded. "We'll see if there's anyone in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff interested, if you want us to."

Malfoy nodded back. "I would be grateful."

"We're not going to do it for you," Hermione said, but she smiled to show Malfoy she didn't mean it meanly.

Malfoy smirked and turned away as if to leave. He hesitated before actually stepping away, though, and turned back. "The House of Malfoy formally apologizes for all negative words and behavior toward the House of Potter and the wards of the House of Black." He smiled as Hermione and Harry exchanged a rather stunned look. "I know you're not allowed to accept that from me. I'll be writing a formal apology to Lord Black tonight."

"Malfoy," Harry began.

Malfoy shook his head. "I can make excuses about my father hurting me if I'd acted in a way he wouldn't have approved, Potter, but in reality I was his son through and through."

"What changed?" Hermione asked.

Malfoy looked away briefly. "My father grew less concerned with hiding just how he treated my mother when I turned fourteen."

Hermione gasped and Harry swallowed roughly.

"That's horrible," she whispered. Malfoy nodded abruptly.

Harry cleared his throat. "Thank you for telling us. And for… well for not being who you used to be."

Malfoy shrugged. "I didn't do it for you," he said.

Hermione laughed at the repetition of her words. "We'll see you around, Lord Malfoy."

Harry let Hermione tug him away, but she could tell his mind was still on the conversation. She wasn't surprised. So much had changed for more than just them over this past summer.

She really was hoping this year would be better. Wouldn't it be great, she thought, to have a normal school year. No Death Eaters, no Voldemort, not even a nasty school bully to tear them down.

Then she thought about the love potion she'd been dosed with and realized that no matter what, being Harry's friend made it impossible for her to have a normal year. She wouldn't tell him that though—he'd get all guilty and truthfully she didn't mind the excitement most of the time. Besides, she wouldn't trade being Harry's friend for anything. 

o-o

"Have you figured out who might have dosed you?" Harry asked softly as they walked to breakfast on Wednesday.

Hermione shook her head. "It wasn't anyone in the Gryffindor common room. I mean, I didn't notice anyone in particular and a love potion that powerful would have made me fairly obsessed with them."

"That counts out Ron then."

Hermione frowned. "You think he would have?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't want to, but…"

"He has been rather horrible this year, hasn't he?" Hermione shook her head. "But Ron doesn't like me like that."

Harry didn't say anything, not too sure, but he let it slide. "So someone in another house, probably."

"Probably. It just doesn't make sense. I mean… who would want me  _that_  badly?"

Harry frowned. He hated it when Hermione made it clear how much she didn't understand her own self-worth. "Do you find intelligence attractive?"

"Well, yes, very much so."

"And so do a bunch of other people, right?"

"I mean, probably."

"You're the smartest witch at Hogwarts, Hermione."

Hermione flushed, now seeing where Harry was going with that. "I suppose."

Harry tugged at the end of her braided hair. "Hey, you'll find someone who loves you for all that you are. And not some bastard who'd rather potion you instead of courting you or winning your affections on their own."

Hermione smiled. "Right. I'm awesome." She lifted her chin and marched through the open doors of the Great Hall.

Harry snorted, following in her wake. He kept his eye out for anyone looking in their direction. Unfortunately, there was quite a number, if only because a lot of people always watched after him and his friends. He hated being the Boy-Who-Lived.

The owls came flying in during the usual morning mail phenomena. Harry noticed Hedwig in the crowd. He cleared a space for her to land on the table. She had two letters tied to her talons. Harry took them both and then fed her a strip of bacon. She hopped up on his shoulder after eating it and proceeded to doze off against his head.

Hermione smiled fondly at the both of them as a plain barn owl dropped off her copy of  _The Daily Prophet_. She sighed upon reading the front headline.

Harry glanced at the paper, ignoring the letters for now. "What is it?"

"Hey Fred, George!" Hermione called at the twins a bit down the table. "What date did you say for the bet?"

"Sometime this week," Fred answered. "Is it?"

Hermione nodded and the twins whooped. They immediately set about writing letters to collect their money as Harry pulled the paper closer to him so that he and Hermione could read it together.

**Boy-Who-Lived Never to be Lord Potter**

_Readers, I have come across some shocking news. Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, the chosen one, and our youngest celebrity, is reportedly a submissive._

_I first heard the rumors at the Quidditch World Cup (see page 4 for more on the Death Eater attack at the Cup, or page 6 for an interview with the beaters of the Ireland team). This reporter was sure the rumors were false. How could our savior be submissive, I asked?_

_After more investigation, though, I found the truth. As reported by fellow papers such as Ireland's Shamrock, France's Voyant, and Germany's Wissen, Lord Sirius Black (see page 2 for a full report on Lord Black's international trial and innocence) petitioned for and won guardianship of not only his godson, Harry Potter, but also one of Mr. Potter's dear friends, a muggleborn named Hermione Granger._

_That's right, dear readers, Lord Black is indeed the lord guardian of these two Hogwarts' fourth years. I was lucky enough to get a quick word from Lord Black himself._

_"I've known Harry was submissive since I first met him," Lord Black said. "Even when he was a baby, he had the same sort of calming aura his mother did."_

_"Did it surprise you to learn that a young submissive was able to defeat You-Know-Who?" I asked._

_"Of course not. As some of you may remember, Harry's mother was a powerful submissive in her own right. Truthfully, Harry and I have talked about how it was likely her doing that allowed for the magical backlash that took out that monster. Lily was always extremely bright, not dissimilar to my ward, Hermione. I have no doubt that Lily created a ritual that, using her sacrifice, saved Harry's life" (More on Lily Evans Potter on Page 7)._

_"So you don't believe it was Harry that defeated You-Know-Who?"_

_"He's very magically powerful and that may have contributed, but he was just a baby when it all happened. Lauding him for something he doesn't remember is ridiculous. Better to look to him and see the man he'll become instead of the child he used to be."_

_"So you aren't disappointed in him being submissive?"_

_"Not at all. He is, of course, the kind of submissive that will never submit to anyone who doesn't deserve it and I don't want him to feel he needs to. Any requests for courtship for either him or Hermione should come directly to me, but while I expect a number of offers for the both of them, I won't be accepting anyone they don't approach me about on their own. Harry and Hermione deserve dominants who will treasure them and who also acknowledge that my wards aren't wallflowers. Neither Harry nor Hermione are weak and the dominants looking at them should take care to remember that."_

_Lord Sirius Black has given us much to think about, dear readers, both on the most celebrated night in British wizarding history and on the young submissives under his care. The question remains now, just who will win the heart of the boy-who-lived? Dominants will take care to note the protection Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger have under their lord guardian (more on courtship, the role of a lord guardian, and the difference between dominants and submissives on page 3)._

_Reporting the truth to you always,_

_Rita Skeeter_

"Wow," Harry said.

"No kidding," Hermione agreed. "I had no idea Sirius was going to do an interview for  _The Prophet_."

"Oh hey, I think I have a letter from him." Harry looked at the two letters. One had both his and Hermione's names scrawled in familiar messy handwriting. He opened it and pulled out the letter, holding it up so Hermione could read it with him.

_My two lovely wards,_

_I hope this letter finds you in good health. It'd better, at least. I'm not ready for another Hospital Wing scare so early into the year. (Speaking of which, floo call me soon Hermione and tell me what you've figured out.)_

_You've probably already read the article in_ The Daily Prophet _. I made sure to get an Oath out of Rita Skeeter so she'd write only the truth so far as she knows it, at least when concerning the two of you. She's been known to blow things out of proportion before. She was the year below me in Hogwarts, you know, and I never trusted that nasty little Ravenclaw. If she approaches either of you for a quote, just make sure to remind her that I need to be there for any interviews with either of you._

_You've probably noticed that I didn't mention that Voldemort was still alive. We can talk more about that in person, but I believe we're going to have to have a little more proof before the wizarding public believes Harry's story from first year. They too badly want Voldemort to be behind them. We'll just have to wait on that shock for a little while._

_Write to me with the questions I'm sure you have about the article and let me know how others react._

_With love,_

_Sirius_

"Mind if I borrow that?" Neville asked, pointing to the paper. Hermione shook her head.

Harry opened the other letter next. It was from Fleur, confirming that she'd be coming for her school at the beginning of next month and staying throughout the entire year as the Triwizard tournament went on. Harry and Hermione both exchanged excited smiles over that.

Harry sat back, looking over the Great Hall. Most of the older students especially didn't seem very surprised at the news, but some of the younger ones were engaged in heated discussions. Many of them glanced at him as they talked.

Either way, Harry was sure now that it was officially stated in the British wizaridng world, he'd end up getting a lot of offers from dominants that only wanted to be connected to his fame or wanted to be Lord Potter and obtain all the money and land that went with that. He wasn't very thrilled about having to deal with that, but he'd manage. It was only until he found someone who actually called to him and knew him as him, after all.

Harry looked up at the staff table, curious to see what the teacher reactions to the article were. Again, no one looked shocked, though Dumbledore looked a bit like he'd swallowed a lemon drop. Harry smirked at that. The manipulative man was probably realizing how much harder it would be to get Harry out of Sirius' grasp now that Britain was aware of what Sirius was to him.

Harry looked to the left of Dumbledore and saw that Snape was looking back at him. He dropped his gaze quickly, but soon realized that Snape wasn't glaring at him.

He frowned, thinking of Potions yesterday. It had been strange. Snape had swept into the room and scowled at him as usual, only to visibly double take. He'd probably realized Harry was submissive, but Harry wouldn't have pegged the man as the kind to treat any student differently just because of that.

Except… except he had. He'd basically ignored Harry and Hermione the entire time and even left Neville alone. He'd still taken almost fifty points from Gryffindor, of course, but that was due to Ron and Dean, and a little from when Seamus almost exploded his cauldron  _again_. Harry swore Seamus did it on purpose. The boy did have a strange fascination with explosions after all.

"You okay?" Hermione asked softly.

"I'm good, actually," Harry said, bringing his attention back to his best friend.

Hermione smiled. "Good."

o-o

Hermione's birthday dawned on a particularly warm and cheerful September seventeenth. It was a Sunday that year. She woke to Lavender and Parvati throwing confetti on her bed. Laughing, Hermione let them help her get ready. She supposed she didn't mind using her birthday as an excuse to dress up a little bit.

"Okay, what are our options?" Parvati asked as Hermione opened up the wardrobe section of her trunk. It was a walk-in, though fairly cramped for all three of them.

"Oh my. Morgana's tits, Hermione, you've been holding out on us!" Lavender squealed as she took in the number of fancier robes and dresses Fleur had made sure Hermione bought in France that summer.

Hermione blushed and shrugged. "I haven't really had a reason to wear any of them yet," she murmured as the other girls went over each dress.

"I think this one," Parvati said, pulling out the baby blue dress Fleur had bought Hermione.

"It's gorgeous," Lavender agreed. "With this over-robe." She grabbed a pale-gold robe and laid it over the dress.

Hermione nodded, content to let the other girls dress her up. They double-French braided her hair and applied just a tiny bit of magical makeup to her face.

When they were done, Hermione checked herself out in the floor-length mirror. The result was actually stunning. The dress was body tight across her torso and flared out just slightly down her legs. The sleeves were tight up to her elbow and similarly loosed up, resulting in a flowing edge over her wrists. The pale-gold robe was short sleeved, almost like a long vest, and neatly sat against the dress like it was meant to be one piece. Hermione added a pair of gold earrings and smiled.

"You're so beautiful," Lavender whispered. She and Parvati had changed into their own dresses—Parvati's a dark blue and Lavender's a soft pink.

"You guys too," Hermione said, because the girls were always pretty.

Parvati shook her head. "You definitely outshine us today."

"Which is the point, birthday girl," Lavender said with a laugh. "Now come on, I'm hungry for breakfast."

"It's more like brunch now," Hermione said good-naturedly as they walked out of their dorm and down the stairs to the common room.

Harry and Neville were waiting for them. They'd both forgone over-robes, instead showing off their submissive-tailored shirts and trousers. Harry wore dark green and Neville wore faded red. Both of them complimented Hermione and wished her a happy birthday.

"Oh, wow," Fay said from the corner of the common room. "Five beautiful submissives all dolled up and ready to party. You're making my heart race."

They laughed, varying degrees of blushes on their cheeks as the other dominants in the common room took that invitation to state their own admiration for the five.

They left for brunch in the Great Hall soon after. "Fifteen already," Harry said as he laced his arm around Hermione's.

Hermione grinned, her cheeks still a little warm from all the compliments. "Crazy, isn't it?"

There was a number of people in the Great Hall, so Hermione was rather shocked when all conversation seemed to stop as they walked in through the double doors. Lavender waved cheekily at the other three tables as they sat at the end of the Gryffindor table.

"Sure know how to make an entrance, don't you?" Angelina said from a few seats down. "Oh, and happy birthday, Hermione."

"Thanks," Hermione murmured. She noticed all of her favorite breakfast foods were on the table and shook her head, wondering if Dobby and Winky had talked to the Hogwarts kitchen elves.

They were interrupted several times as they ate by random dominants from other houses coming up to compliment them. At one point, Justin Finch-Fletchley from the Hufflepuff table came up. Hermione braced herself for another heavy-handed compliment, but instead the fellow fourth-year asked if he could sit down briefly.

Harry nodded for them, which told Hermione that his highly developed intuition knew something she couldn't tell.

"See, my parents are muggles," Justin began. "Quite well-to-do and all. You know how it is in the muggle world, Harry, Hermione."

"They don't know about you being submissive?" Harry asked.

Hermione wanted to nod. Of course Harry had been able to tell immediately. She sometimes wondered if he even realized how observant he was.

"Right." Justin winced. Neville, Lavender, and Parvati looked a bit confused.

"I know that's a problem in the muggle world, I just don't know why," Lavender said.

"It would be easier if I was female," Justin muttered.

Hermione grimaced. "See, the muggle world doesn't have distinctions on dominant and submissive, but especially in high class society, there's a similar sort of system that the wizarding world has along the lines of almost-but-not-quite arranged marriages. But for the muggle world, all females are seen as the submissive side of the relationship when it comes to that and all males are expected to be dominant."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Parvati protested.

"We know," Harry said. "That's just the way of things."

"It's getting better," Hermione told them. "There's been a big push for equality in the past couple decades, but that's not about dominant or submissive, that's just saying that both males and females are supposed to be equal in relationships and marriage."

"That makes even less sense," Neville said.

"Who courts who then?" Lavender added. "Who's in charge of the properties and all that?"

"It's split," Justin said. "Most of the time. But the equality isn't there yet and it still tends to fall on the males. The thing is, my parents wouldn't have a problem with the dominant-submissive thing here if I was dominant."

"But you're not," Hermione said. "I see your problem."

Justin nodded, looking morose.

"Well, you don't have tell them, do you?" Harry said. "I mean, it might come up more if you find a male dominant, but you're a wizard, Justin. Unless your planning on returning to the muggle world after you graduate, you should do what you want to do."

Justin looked a little happier at that, but he was still obviously worried. "But I don't have a lord guardian. I mean, any dominant courting me would expect to have to go through my parents, but they won't understand."

"And Dumbledore is your magical guardian," Hermione said. Harry scowled and she shared the look. "You don't want him to make any decisions for you."

"The headmaster is a good man," Justin said, missing the look on Harry and Hermione's faces, though it seemed that Neville hadn't judging by his own confused look. "But yeah, that'd be weird."

"Have you thought about asking your Head of House?" Parvati asked. "Professor Sprout is dominant. She married Nancy Dolle, well now Sprout, just a few years ago."

"I didn't know." Justin smiled. "Yeah, I'll ask her. If she could do it, that'd be awesome."

"Good luck," Harry said.

Justin stood, but hesitated before leaving. "The thing is," he said, looking especially at Harry. Hermione wasn't surprised. Harry always had that effect on people. He was submissive, but he was still a leader and anyone who spent any time with him could see that. "I would have been fine with muggle dating. I wouldn't even really have known about this other stuff if it wasn't all over the news because of you two. I mean, my 'older brother' in the House told me about courting, but I kind of dismissed it as this old magical tradition." He flushed at the admission.

"A lot of muggleborns do that," Parvati said.

"Right," Justin said. "Except, not anymore. Cause Harry and even you too Hermione, you were both raised muggle but now you've got a lord guardian and you're saying you want to do traditional courtship and it's really opened a lot of eyes. I was talking about it with some of the muggleborns in Ravenclaw. We don't want to see ignorant, you know. A muggle wedding just doesn't give you the same rights in this world as a full bonding ceremony does—but you can't have one of those unless you go through a real courtship."

"Plus, it's really romantic, isn't it?" Lavender added.

Justin laughed. "Yeah, it is. So I just wanted to say thanks, I guess."

"You're the one that decided to embrace it," Harry said. "You don't need to thank us. I'm glad, though, even if your situation is a little complicated."

"I think it'll be fine now," Justin reassured him. "I'm going to talk to Professor Sprout tomorrow."

"Let us know," Hermione said, too curious just to let it go.

"Will do." Justin left then.

Hermione looked at Harry and smiled. He smiled back, both of them probably thinking the same thing. Harry probably never would like his fame, but if it caused ripples in the water like that, then all the better for it.

They finished brunch and headed back to the common room. Harry tugged Hermione to the back of the group. He stopped her outside the Fat Lady, letting Lavender, Parvati, and Neville go ahead.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Give them a second," Harry said. He waited and then nodded. "Okay, let's go."

Hermione huffed as they stepped through the portrait hole and were immediately hit with confetti and streamers.

"Happy birthday!" all the Gryffindor fourth years, a number of the younger years, and most of the fifth and sixth years yelled.

Hermione laughed as she took in the decorations and the huge cake sitting on one of the tables. It had been a Hogsmeade day yesterday, so she wasn't surprised to see that there was a lot of Honeydukes' candy laid out on a side table.

"Dobby and Winky made the cake," Harry said as their house elves waved from the corner. Hermione thanked them both, which caused Winky especially to burst into tears.

The party lasted the entire afternoon. Hermione let herself have two slices of cake, because it was just that good, and she even got talked into playing Exploding Snap. By the time they all headed to dinner, Hermione was pleasantly exhausted.

Like at brunch, the five submissives got a lot of compliments on their appearances, but this time Ron, Fay, Seamus, Dean and several other Gryffindor dominants were sitting with them. Hermione noticed Ron scowl deeper with each passing compliment. She refused to acknowledge it, not wanting him to ruin her birthday.

On the way out of the Great Hall after dinner, they passed by Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini walking to the Slytherin table.

"Happy birthday, Granger," Malfoy said cordially. His grey eyes passed over her to Harry and then briefly to the other three submissives. "You all look lovely today."

"Thank you, Lord Malfoy," Hermione said. She bowed her head briefly to Zabini and smiled at Nott. Nott smiled back softly.

"Stay away from Hermione, Malfoy!" Ron spat, his face an ugly red. "She doesn't want anything to do with you."

Hermione blinked, watching as Malfoy's face hardened into a disdainful look.

"I hardly care for your opinion, Weasley," he stated. "If Granger doesn't want me to wish her a happy birthday, she can say so herself and I won't bother her anymore."

"Don't put words into my mouth, Ron," Hermione said hotly. "Draco was just being nice."

Malfoy's eyes flickered at the use of his first name, but he seemed to realize Hermione was making a point. "I endeavor to be nothing but nice to you in the future, Hermione," he said. "After all, you're the best person to go to when everyone is confused about what Babbling is explaining in Ancient Runes. I would hate to ruin my chances at getting you as the much coveted partner for this year's final project."

Hermione grinned. "You have a bit of work left to be guaranteed on that, Draco," she said. "Anthony Goldstein asked me the first day of class and you know I like that kind of initiative."

"Challenge accepted," Draco stated, amusement clear in his voice.

"Hey now," Zabini said. "What if I want Hermione as my Runes' partner?"

"Oh no," Nott stated. "I see what you just did, Hermione. Causing a rift in the Slytherins so that Gryffindor is guaranteed the House Cup. Tsk tsk."

Hermione laughed, joined in by Harry and most of the other Gryffindors with them. Ron was still fuming, but Fay had pulled him back.

"You caught me, Theo," she stated. "Though truly, it was Harry that came up with it."

Harry nodded easily. "We don't have Quidditch this year, so if I don't get a chance to trounce you Slytherins on the pitch, I have to think of more creative methods."

"How devious, Harry," Draco said, practically purring out Harry's name. "I didn't know you had it in you."

Harry took Hermione's hand and started to pull her away. "You may know me better than some, Draco, but you've still barely scratched the surface," he said over his shoulder.

Hermione snorted. That was the truth. She can't say she was surprised to have learned he'd almost been sorted into Slytherin. Of course, when he'd told her over the summer she'd been shocked, but then she'd thought about it and it really made a lot of sense for a number of reasons.

Back at the common room, Harry drew Hermione away in a corner and cast privacy charm. He handed her a couple presents.

"I was wondering why you didn't give me anything earlier," Hermione said. She'd already gotten her presents from the other fourth year submissives and Ron.

Ron had mumbled something about his present being the Honeydukes' chocolate that everyone had eaten at the party, but the other submissives' presents had really surprised her—mostly because she hadn't expected any from them. Parvati and Lavender had pooled together to buy her an awesome cashmere blanket charmed with moving feathers and flipping pages. It was really soft and comfortable and she was excited to sleep under it that night. Neville had asked his Gran for permission to give her one of the old books from the Longbottom library. It was on spell creation and Hermione had wanted to read it since she first learned about it, but there were only about a hundred copies in existence and she'd given up hope on getting her hands on it. She'd actually cried when she'd opened that present.

Now, Harry handed her first Sirius' present. Hermione opened it to see a card. She laughed at the little lion wearing glasses and reading a book. Inside, Sirius explained that his present to her was a year's subscription to a number of notable weekly and monthly magical theory and research magazines from all over Europe. Hermione couldn't wait until the first issues arrived.

Harry also had a package from Fleur and Gabrielle. Fleur got her tickets to a magical orchestra she'd introduced Hermione to over the summer. According to the card, the orchestra was playing in Britain at the end of November and since Fleur would be at Hogwarts with them, she'd gotten permission from her mother and from Sirius for them to go together the weekend of the show. Sirius would be escorting both of them, of course. Hermione was very excited.

Gabrielle's present was a cute moving drawing of her, Hermione, and Fleur all braiding each other's hair. Hermione cooed over it and resolved to hang it up in her dorm room.

The last present was from Harry. Hermione opened the bag to find a hand-sized mirror. "As promised," she said, smiling.

"I actually did some modifications on it," Harry said. "Most enchanted mirrors can only connect to one other mirror, as you know. I spent some time going over the theory of it with Sirius and figured out a way to enhance that connection. This mirror can actually connect with an infinite number of other mirrors, so long as they all have the same charms. It's kind of like a phone."

"Wow, Harry," Hermione said. "That's really impressive!"

Harry blushed. "I wanted to. And to be honest, it's not entirely for you. I mean, I have one too. So does Sirius and Fleur."

"So we can all call each other? It doesn't have to go through mine?"

"Exactly."

"That's really awesome," Hermione said. "Really really. How does it work?"

"Just tap the mirror with your wand and say the name of the person you want to call." Harry pulled out his own mirror. "Give it a try."

Hermione tapped her mirror. "Harry."

Harry's mirror began to vibrate and flash lightly, just like a phone would. Hermione grinned as Harry tapped it with his own wand. Both their mirrors flickered and then showed each other's faces.

"Wicked," Hermione said. "Can you make more?"

There was a weird double-echo from the mirrors, so Harry ended the call with another tap of his wand before answering. "I have another three already charmed to connect with our mirrors. It's your choice who you want to give them to. And I can make more past that too. And yes, Hermione, I promise to show you how."

Harry knew her too well. She reached forward and hugged him tightly.

"I think we should give one to Neville," Hermione said as she pulled back.

"Not Ron?" Harry asked.

Hermione frowned. She felt guilty about it, but…

"It's okay," Harry said before she could say anything. "I get it. I'll make sure Neville gets one." He hesitated. "Sirius thinks we should market the idea."

"It would make communication a lot easier in the Wizarding world," Hermione agreed. "Are you hesitating because it's supposed to be my birthday present?"

Harry shrugged.

Hermione huffed. "Harry Potter, I just expected you to buy me a market brand mirror. This is already above and beyond, so don't worry." She tapped her chin. "Though you know, it would be cool if we could have all the proceeds go to a charity or something."

"That's a good idea!"

"We should talk about it more, and with Sirius, but I've been thinking about this for a while and I think there should be a foundation in place to help muggleborns. It could fund scholarships to the school and for extra reading books and Wizarding clothes. And we could have programs to help muggleborns learn all about the world they're entering. Like a summer camp or something before Hogwarts where they can learn all about the Wizarding world."

"Wow, Hermione," Harry murmured. "That really would be awesome."

Hermione bit her bottom lip. "I want to call it the Lily Fund, if you agree."

Harry turned his head away, but Hermione could tell in his voice it was because he was on a verge of tears. "I would really like that."

Hermione drew him in for another hug and they stayed like that for a long time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple things before you read this chapter. First, I'm sorry I'm late. I mean, I'm not too terribly late, but I did promise this chapter in March and it's currently April. Second, I just want to remind everyone that this story is supposed to be fairly light-hearted. It's a romance chapter fic, even more so than my other HP stories, so while it might look like I'm taking this on a dark path, I promise things will work out just fine.

Harry sat down in the corner of the library and put his Arithmancy textbook out in front of him. Hermione had been told by Snape to stay back after Potions—something about a missing ingredient. Harry had wanted to wait for her but she'd shooed him on, giving him a look that meant she could take care of herself. He was less worried now because of Sirius's promise to take Snape in front of the Board if he was unfair. Hermione was meticulous so if Snape tried to give her a bad grade for a made up reason like a missing ingredient in one of her potions, it probably wouldn't last in an inquiry.

Flipping open his book, Harry found the section on probability combinations and began to read it again. He and Hermione had fallen into the habit of doing all their homework together so he hated to start that without her. But he still struggled with the more advanced concepts of probability so he figured now would be a perfect time to try to review it more.

He'd only made it through a couple example problems when a cleared throat interrupted him. Harry looked up and saw that Malfoy stood at the edge of his table. "Lord Malfoy," Harry greeted as cordially as he could.

Something about Malfoy's being had changed dramatically since the beginning of the year. Harry knew it had to do with Draco becoming a Lord, but it was still startling to realize that he no long instinctively tensed quite as badly when in Malfoy's presence. That didn't mean his muscles didn't tighten, but it felt more anticipatory than frightened. He no longer felt like a cornered animal who needed to strike out first or be attacked. Now, he could wait for Malfoy to set the tone of the conversation and follow from there instead. It was relieving.

"May I sit down?" Malfoy asked, gesturing to the empty seat next to Harry.

Harry let his head obviously tilt to the side to show his confusion, but he said, "Sure."

Malfoy pulled out the chair and sat in it, twisted slightly so he was facing Harry directly. He studied Harry for several minutes, glancing from him to the open Arithmancy textbook, then away at something over Harry's shoulder.

Harry resisted the urge to begin tapping the table. His body was still tensed for whatever this interaction was going to be and it made him want to  _move_.

Malfoy blinked suddenly and pulled back. "Sorry," he said, as if somehow he'd noticed Harry's nerves.

Harry knew he could hide his body's reactions well—knew because the majority of people hadn't ever figured out that his years at the Dursleys had ingrained his flight and fight reflexes stronger than most—but for some reason he believed that Malfoy had seen right through him. The idea that Malfoy really could read him that well made him blush and he turned away in an unsuccessful attempt to hide it.

"Potter," Malfoy began, then he paused. "Harry, I wanted to give you a personal apology."

"You already did. And Sirius wrote that he'd received your official one too."

"Yes, however, it wasn't right especially how I reacted with you. I… I told you that I've known for a while that you're submissive. Ever since second year, even, because of how you reacted when the school discovered your parseltongue abilities."

The thing Harry remembered most from that time was how Ron and Hermione had shielded him from the glares and nasty comments of his classmates. It had been one of the strongest displays of loyalty that Ron had ever shown for him and while Hermione had stood at his side, it had been Ron who'd stepped in front of them and glared at the rumor-mongrels.

Harry blinked. "Oh," he said, looking back on those interactions now knowing he and Hermione were submissives.

"I should have stopped my behavior then. Knowing what you were, are, and yet still needling you, picking at your weak spots… it was deplorable." Malfoy looked down at his hands. "When I began to finally realize just how my father abused my mother, I also began to notice the similarities in myself. I am my father's son, however much I don't want to be anymore, and subconsciously I was mimicking his actions on you. I wanted to think that I was just a young Dominant butting heads with another young Dominant but I wasn't. I didn't fight with you like I fought with Weasley. I fought with you like my father fought with my mother: by pushing her until just before she broke and then letting up enough for her to recover so he could do it again. It was sadistic and disgusting and–"

"Malfoy, stop," Harry said, not liking how Malfoy was slowly turning in on himself. "It's in the past, you've apologized, and I wasn't truly hurt by it. Sure, you've always had an uncanny ability to find my weaknesses, but we were kids. I wasn't permanently scarred by any of your comments or childish hexes, was I?"

"What does your boggart turn into?"

Harry flinched back.

Malfoy smirked, but it was a self-depreciating one. "And there I spent nearly half of last year reminding you of that very fact, of how you feel when you were near Dementors. I can't atone for that, Harry."

And Harry suddenly couldn't take it anymore. He reached forward and grabbed Malfoy's hands. "Draco, listen to me," he said softly, but firmly. "I forgive you. Yes, you were horrible. Yes, some things you said gave me nightmares and made my life harder. But every time you struck one of my weak points to death, I learned to cover that spot up a little more. I wouldn't have lasted in second year being called a traitor by nearly everyone if it weren't for you. Your overt bullying was what reminded me that the wizarding world isn't just a magical place of hopes and dreams, it has real people who do real nasty things. I'm not saying I want you to go back to bullying me, but  _don't beat yourself up about it_. I am fine. I'm more than fine. I'm better prepared now for what is probably ahead than I would have been had I come into the world and you and everyone else treated me like I was made of glass. So I forgive you, okay?"

Malfoy stared at him with wide grey eyes. They were expressive, those eyes, like swirling clouds with just a hint of threatening rain. Harry's breath caught in his throat.

"Whatever Dominant manages to capture your heart is in for some trouble," Malfoy said finally and pulled back.

Harry felt himself blush. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Potter, that you have the extraordinary ability to get yourself into terrible situations and then get out of them by doing the exact opposite of what any normal person would do." Malfoy reached forward and lightly touched the bridge of Harry's eye and temple. "I like you better without the glasses. It brightens your face."

Harry huffed and physically turned away from Malfoy.

"Too much?"

Harry looked back at the young lord out of the corner of his eye. Malfoy confused him, but it was a good kind of confusion. "Just for now."

Malfoy nodded, easy as that, and stood to leave. "Thank you for entertaining me, Potter," he said formally.

"I don't mind if you call me Harry," he shot after Malfoy, though he wasn't sure why. It just felt right, something to make this sudden turn in their interactions.

Malfoy turned back to him. "Only if you call me Draco."

Harry looked down at his book, the numbers incomprehensible. "Bye then, Draco."

"I'll see you later, Harry."

And then Harry was alone again in the quiet corner of the library. He let the tension fall from his shoulders but for some reason his heart continued to beat wildly.

o-o

"Yes, Professor?" Hermione asked as she set her book bag on the nearest table and walked up to Snape's desk. She racked her brain trying to come up with the convicting potion. She couldn't remember messing up on any this year. She very rarely messed up during Potions class in general, but it was early enough in the year that she was sure she hadn't made a mistake thus far.

Snape waved a hand and levitated one of the near chairs to sit at the foot of his teacher's desk. "Have a seat, Miss Granger."

Hermione sat, a little impressed despite herself at the display of wandless magic. Snape almost never showed off his skills outside of his brewing. Even the time he dueled against Lockhart in second year had been more of a joke than anything.

"What potion were you referring to, Professor?" Hermione asked as she sat down.

"I confess, Miss Granger, that I lied to get you to stay after. You have shown exceptional work this year as you always do. I appreciate that with the passing of years you have matured as a student in class. It is much more enjoyable to teach you now than it once was." Snape paused, though hardly long enough for Hermione to be able to digest the startling words. "Then again, I have never been a patient teacher and have little tolerance for children. Beautifully budding submissives are a different story."

Hermione felt herself begin to turn red. She shifted uncomfortably in the hard wooden chair, not sure what she was supposed to say to the unexpected compliments. "Thank you, Professor," she murmured hesitantly.

Snape continued to stare at her and she couldn't make herself meet his dark gaze. There was an intensity about him, one she was unused to have focused on her. Too often he fixated on Harry when he was in the room and even when Harry wasn't, Snape had always dismissed her. But… not recently. Hermione suddenly realized that she'd been feeling this intensity for weeks. She'd thought it was nerves, because it was always a bit nerve-wracking to be in Snape's class, but now she recalled that she'd felt this stare on her more and more during class time and even a few time during meals.

"Is there anything else, Professor? I have some homework I need to complete," Hermione said, hoping to escape quickly so she could have some space to think more on this. The heavy air in the room was making it hard to think.

"I'm certain you have more than adequately prepared for tomorrow's classes," Snape replied smoothly. "Miss Granger, you just turned fifteen and though your new  _guardian_ ," he said the word as if it were something nasty, "may not have prepared you, you should know that it is perfectly acceptable in our society for Dominants to look to you for courtship. Though you may not bond until you are of legal age, two years is the standard time for most courting protocols to be completed."

"I am aware, Professor," Hermione said. She wondered if the man was just concerned about her, but that made no sense. If anything, it should be McGonagall having this conversation with her, not Snape.

"Hermione."

She looked up, startled. Snape's black eyes were so very deep and she nearly got lost staring in them. The shakiness in her legs faded.

"I would very much like to court you," Snape said. "I know it is unexpected, but you have proven to me over the last few years that you are exactly the kind of submissive I have been waiting for. I would hate to be rejected from the chance to show you that I can be the perfect Dominant for you because of your guardian's schoolboy prejudices against me."

"Sirius has promised to accepted the courtship offers of Dominants Harry or I tell him we're interested in," Hermione said, the words falling from her mouth.

Those black eyes were so very deep. Hermione wondered if they'd always been like that, or if they'd darkened progressively, little by little, until they'd become a chasm-like hole.

All of the sudden, Hermione felt herself fall into the hole. She saw herself as Snape saw her, a moldable girl, young and growing more beautiful by the week. She was so very similar to a girl of his past, a girl with bright red hair and green eyes.

But that girl had been stolen away from him and now that he'd found a suitable replacement he was not about to let her slip through his fingers. Potions were too risky now that they were on guard after his screw up with the shellfish, but subtle prodding would work. She always did respect authority figures, didn't she? Surely it wouldn't take much manipulation for that respect to turn into admiration?

Hermione jerked away, her chair falling to the floor with a loud clatter. She turned to run, only to find herself immobilized in place. Her wand quivered in its holster, but she didn't have the strength to call it out. Her head spun.

"Foolish girl," Snape said, but it was in a chillingly amused tone. "Natural talent at legilmency too. You are a wonder. I'll just have to try another way."

She could only watch in horror as he circled around to her front and pulled out his wand.

 _No_ , Hermione begged.

"I have always enjoyed a good chase," Snape mused as he pointed the wand at her temple. " _Obliviate._ "

Hermione found Harry in a corner table at the library.

"Hey!" he greeted. "How'd the thing with Snape go?"

"Oh, it was nothing in the end," she answered. "Re-reading the probability section?"

"Yeah. Didn't get as far as I'd like though." Harry blushed suddenly. "Malfoy stopped to talk to me."

Hermione blinked and leaned forward in her chair. "Oh? Do tell."

o-o

Fawkes flew to Harry while he was out flying. Just because he couldn't play Quidditch this year didn't mean he couldn't get away for a little while and soar the skies. Hermione was off in her Ancient Runes study group and Ron hadn't finished his Potions essay for tomorrow so it had been a perfect time for him to grab his Firebolt and leap out the window.

Fawkes interrupted him though with a dramatic flare of red and gold feathers and a small note clasped in his beak. Harry sighed, not sure he wanted to read whatever Dumbledore had probably sent. But he landed anyway and took the note from the phoenix. Fawkes chirped at him, a sad little sound as if he knew that something was wrong.

"Not your fault, Fawkes," Harry murmured as he unfolded the note.

_Harry, I would very much like to talk to you. I understand I have made you angry this summer and for that I am deeply sorry, but there is some information you must be made aware of. If you will join me in my office at your earliest convenience, I would be most grateful. The password is Smarties. ~AD_

"Do you know what he wants to talk to me about?" Harry asked Fawkes. Fawkes trilled in response, an urgent sound that almost made him want to jump back on his broom and race through the clouds.

"Okay," Harry replied. "I'll go."

Fawkes nudged him, a move very similar to Hedwig's when she was being affectionate, and took off toward the Headmaster's tower. Harry walked along the grounds until he found a door into the building and headed to the gargoyle. He said the password and was allowed up the spiral staircase.

Dumbledore sat behind his large desk. He rose when Harry came in. "Harry," he greeted without any of his cheerful  _my boy_ -ing. Harry appreciated that. "Please, have a seat."

"Yes, Professor," Harry said.

He noticed how tired Dumbledore looked, how thin his hair seemed, like his age was finally catching up to him. Dumbledore offered him a bowl of lemon drops silently and he shook his head against them. Dumbledore popped one in his own mouth and sucked on it for a minute. Harry waited.

Finally, the old headmaster sighed aloud and crossed his hands over top of the desk. "I've made more than my share of mistakes in my life, Harry," he said. "Many were the result of my own short-sightedness. I have always been grandiose and though it's served me well in some positions, it has resulted in some terrible things. I should have fought harder for Sirius to be given a trial. I didn't, because it was easier to ignore what my own gut was telling me and place you in an environment where I had believed you would grow up better."

"The Dursleys were horrible to me," Harry said. "You knew they didn't want me."

"I knew, yes." Dumbledore's eyes were fixed on his wizened hands. "But Sirius was always an irresponsible child, hot-headed and reckless and though he had a good heart, I worried for how he would have raised you. Had the Ministry given Sirius a proper trial and seen him freed, I wouldn't have protested him taking you as was his right. But it was my fault for not pushing deeper and discovering that his legal rights were ignored. I don't expect you to forgive me for your time with your muggle relatives, you've made it abundantly clear how you feel, but I am grateful that you've turned out such a noble heart despite it all. Tom Riddle would have taken such an environment and learned to hate all muggles. You are a better person that he ever was, Harry."

Harry hated to give into Dumbledore's words, but the man was being reasonable and honestly… "I probably am better off for the years I spent with my relative," he admitted. "Not that I would ever send another kid there, but growing up without knowing my fame was good, I think. And the anonymity of living in the muggle world did probably keep me safe at the beginning. But things are different now, the magical world knows who I am and isn't it better for me to be prepared for the world I'm to live in than be forced back into isolation?"

Dumbledore looked up at him then and Harry recoiled at the abject sadness in his eyes. "I had hoped to give you as much of an innocent childhood as I could, Harry, but it's rather obvious that I failed. Perhaps your experiences were good, because had you come to Hogwarts completely ignorant of the unfairness of the world I believe you would have died. I was pleased with how well you did in your first year. You exceeded my expectations, despite all I pushed you to do."

"So the philosopher's stone  _was_  a test." Harry had wondered about that for a while now. "Those challenges were too easy to be a real barrier to Voldemort."

"The stone you found was a fake. The real stone was never in any danger and is safely hidden to this day. Not even I know where it is, only Nicholas and his wife do."

"Why? Why throw an eleven year old in that kind of danger? Quirrell could have killed me."

"Quirrell would have never been able to kill you. Nothing but Voldemort's own hand could do so and I believed, correctly, that working through a possession wouldn't circumvent that."

Harry gaped. "Wha- what are you talking about?"

"Everything I've done, Harry, has been to prepare you for your destiny. I have made mistakes, done terrible things to you and others, but I made those sacrifices to my own conscience in order to save this world. You see, Harry, there was a prophecy that was made before you were born. And now, I believe, you are ready to hear it."

Dumbledore raised his wand and a familiar, raspy voice drifted through the still air of the office. " _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies._ "

"Is that Trelawney?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "I know her performance in class has not given you much reason to believe her prophecies, but she is a true seer. You heard one of her prophecies last year, before Pettigrew escaped to rejoin his master."

Harry shivered. He didn't want to believe it but… he remembered how she'd looked when she'd given that prophecy. Her little predictions in class were all made up, but that didn't mean she didn't also have the Sight. "What does it mean? Seventh month… so July. I guess the scar is what marked me, right? But what power does Voldemort not know?"

"It is my opinion that love is that answer," Dumbledore explained. "Voldemort was born by consequence of a love potion and as a result he is incapable of feeling or even understanding the concept of love. You, Harry, love deeply when you decide to let yourself and it shows in your loyalty to your best friends and your godfather."

Harry thought about Ron, about falling out of love, about deepening his bonds with Hermione and Sirius. "Yes," he agreed. "I suppose it does. I don't really get how that knowledge would help me, or anyone, defeat Voldemort though. I can't just hug him to death."

Dumbledore gave him a weak smile. "Prophecies are tricky things and the answers are not always clear. All we can be sure of is that you are the only one who can defeat Voldemort, and Voldemort is the only one who can defeat you."

"Which is why Quirrell…" Harry understood now and it sickened him. "Why me?"

"Fate has chosen you. Beyond that, I can't answer. One cannot run from a prophecy, Harry. Fate is not kind to those that ignore her messages." Dumbledore stood and walked around his desk. He knelt down beside Harry's chair and took Harry's hands. "For what it's worth, I truly am sorry to place this burden on you. I am here to help you with this in whatever way you need me to. I think it's clear now that my previous plans have been maligned and I am at least smart enough to realize that forcing the same path would only hinder your quest."

"I need some time," Harry said, standing and shaking Dumbledore's hands off. "And I need to talk to Sirius."

"Of course. I can give you permission to visit him next weekend if you wish. You and Miss Granger should you want to include her."

Harry's first reaction was no, but then he thought about how it would feel if things were reversed and slowly he nodded. Hermione was his sister in all but blood, she deserved to know.

"Sir, do you think… is it even possible for me to beat him?"

"Fate would have have given you this quest if it weren't. Perhaps at the height of Voldemort's power it would have been near impossible, but the mere act of given you that scar put you and Voldemort on equal footing. He is but a wraith now and until he finds a way to regain a permanent body, he is stopped from hurting you. You have time, Harry."

"Which is why you told me now."

Dumbledore stood, wincing slightly as his bone's audibly cracked. "I have more information for you, but I shall wait for you to inform your godfather. I believe you'd been overloaded enough today."

Harry stared hard at the man. "When Sirius and I come back, you'll tell us  _everything_. I can't win if I'm working blind."

"I promise."

Harry nodded and rubbed his face. There was a prickling in the corners of his eyes that said he was holding back tears. "I… can I go to Sirius now?" he hated the weakness in his tone, but the enormity of this situation was catching up with him and he just wanted to feel the safety of his godfather's arms around him. "I know it's a weekday, but…"

"I shall make excuses for your professors." Dumbledore grabbed the bowl of Floo powder and gently put it in his hands. "Return when you're ready."

Harry still didn't trust the man as much as he once did, but he understood now and so he accepted the peace offering and left without giving in to the desire to rage at the man. It wasn't Dumbledore's fault that he was Fate's bitch and it wasn't Trelawney's either.

But that maturity was hard to maintain and now all he wanted was to cry his frustration out for as long as he was allowed.

A flash of green fire later and Sirius pulled him close. "Pup? What's wrong? What happened?"

"I'll explain in a little bit," Harry mumbled into Sirius's chest. "Can you just… for a little while?"

"Of course." Sirius tugged him close. "I've got you, Harry. I've got you."

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Eyes Like Sorrow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11195724) by [badluckvixen13 (alteringviews)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alteringviews/pseuds/badluckvixen13)




End file.
